Chevy Chase Shoulder Dislocated During Community Filming Altercation With Co-Star
It’s no secret that Chevy Chase was frequently at odds with his costars on Community, but recent comments by Joel McHale indicate the confrontations were more physical than previously reported. In fact, one altercation got so physical between the two that McHale dislocated Chase’s shoulder. While on-set drama and interpersonal conflict are common it’s rare to hear about things getting so violent, especially on the set of a sitcom.
A Great Cast To Start
Debuting in 2009, Community was instantly beloved by comedy fans for its wacky tone paired with interesting characters and a healthy pinch of meta-humor.
In addition to Joel McHale and Chevy Chase, the show featured Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Allison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ken Jeong, and Jim Rash.
For many fans, showrunner Dan Harmon was just as important as the cast, but there’s no denying that the original cast and their characters are a huge part of what made the show work.
Behind-The-Scenes Problems
However, Community was plagued with behind-the-scenes problems many of them involving Chevy Chase.
Showrunner Dan Harmon notoriously fought with Chase constantly during the show’s production. Donald Glover also publicly discussed his issues with Chase and the racism he experienced working with him. Chase was eventually fired from Community after using a racial slur on set.
Dislocated Shoulder
With so many behind-the-scenes incidents it’s not surprising that Joel McHale had his own incidents with Chevy Chase while they were both on Community.
The revelation of just how bad things were between the two came from McHale’s appearance on the podcast Inside of You in which he discussed the frequent physical altercations the two got into, stating, “I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder.”
Chevy Chase Was Not Amused
On Chevy Chase’s part, he’s been publicly vocal about not enjoying his experience on Community.
Just last year, on WTF With Marc Maron, Chase aired his dislike for working on the show, calling it unfunny. He made his dislike for his co-stars known, though he avoided naming anyone specifically.
Even if he hadn’t been fired, it seems likely Chase would have had a negative experience working on the show given how many issues he had on set.
Hard To Work With
Of course, comedy fans shouldn’t be too surprised to learn how bad things were between Chevy Chase and his Community co-stars as Chase is notoriously hard to work with.
The comedic actor’s time on Saturday Night Live, which is what made him a household name, was also famously contentious with stories of fights with Bill Murray nearly coming to physical violence and a feud with John Belushi. Despite years of high-profile work, Chase’s legacy is defined largely by his personal drama with nearly everyone he’s worked with.
No Community Movie For Chevy Chase?
Even for fans who didn’t follow all of the behind-the-scenes drama involving Chevy Chase, Community fans won’t be surprised to learn that Chevy’s character Pierce likely won’t appear in the upcoming Community movie.
After all, Pierce was killed off in the show after Chase’s departure after the fourth season. Given the intensity of his physical altercations with McHale, his frequent arguments with Harmon, and the racist remarks that got him fired, it’s probably for the best for everyone that he won’t be involved.
