The Long List Of Celebs Who Can't Stand Chevy Chase

Once comedy's hottest talent as the breakout star of "Saturday Night Live" before becoming Hollywood's most lovable goofy dad in big-screen blockbuster "National Lampoon's Vacation" and its multiple sequels, Chevy Chase's legacy has grown complicated over the years. (In fact, some tragic details about Chase have even emerged.) That was certainly evident in the CNN documentary about him, "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not," titled for his catchphrase while serving as the first-ever "Weekend Update" anchor on "SNL."

In the documentary, Chase's long-held reputation for being a jerk is on full display when the film's director (as reported by The Hollywood Reporter), tells him, "I'm just trying to figure you out." Chase replies, "No s***. It's not gonna be easy for you. You're not bright enough." In fact, the doc is full of interviews with people who relate their own anecdotes about being on the receiving end of his prickly personality; the word "a**hole" is used frequently. 

So, how did a guy who was America's golden boy of comedy in the 1970s become so widely loathed in the decades that followed? To gain some insight, we looked at the long list of celebs who can't stand Chevy Chase.

Chevy Chase rocketed to stardom during the debut season of "Saturday Night Live," and had become such a hot commodity that he quit the show in the midst of the second season to pursue a movie career. Understandably, that didn't go over so well with the rest of the cast — particularly John Belushi, who'd had a longstanding rivalry with Chase that predated "SNL," and believed himself to be far more talented.

Bill Murray was hired as Chase's replacement, and tensions flared when Chase returned to host the show in 1978. Belushi had been badmouthing Chase to Murray, who greeted him with disdain when he arrived to host the show. Insults were exchanged; minutes before he was about to deliver his monologue on live television, Chase confronted Murray in Belushi's dressing room, where punches flew. "Billy Murray and I came to fisticuffs, but we never really ended up hitting each other," Chase recalled in an interview with Esquire. "We tried, but Belushi got in the middle and we both ended up hitting John. And if anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead it was John, for instigating it all."

Murray shared his recollection of their scuffle, telling Empire, "It was really a Hollywood fight, a "Don't touch my face!" kind of thing ... So it was kind of a non-event. It was just the significance of it ... Because we all felt mad he had left us, and somehow I was the anointed avenging angel, who had to speak for everyone."

In December 1975, just a few months after "Saturday Night Live" had made its debut, a feature in New York magazine reported that television industry sources claimed that NBC executives were already starting to see breakout star Chevy Chase as "the first real potential successor to Johnny Carson when he gives up the "Tonight Show."" The piece also claimed that the network was in the midst of making a big development deal with Chase, who would soon test the waters by stepping in as a guest host for Carson. 

While Chase proved to be a quick-witted, fast-on-his feet talk show guest, he floundered as a host. "I tried," Chase told Carson years later when he appeared on "The Tonight Show." "I gotta tell you, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done." While the two men eventually became friends, that apparently wasn't the case around the time when there was serious discussion of Chase replacing Carson — who was less than impressed with his supposed heir apparent. As TV critic Tom Shales wrote for RogerEbert.com, Carson had once told him that Chase "couldn't ad lib a fart at a bean-eating contest."

And while Carson later considered Chase a friend, he was nevertheless brutally honest after watching Chase's disastrous late-night show for Fox, which was cancelled just five weeks after its high-profile 1993 premiere. "I would have to say, "I think to be very honest, Chevy, you didn't look very comfortable doing this kind of a show,"" Carson told The Washington Post.

Chevy Chase has rarely pulled punches about his feeling that the quality of "Saturday Night Live" declined as soon as he walked out the door. In a 2018 interview with The Washington Post, he was asked about what he thought about Will Ferrell, who catapulted to movie stardom after his seven seasons on "SNL." "Just not funny," Chase said. "Makes $25 million a picture."

Of course, Chase's poor opinion may have been influenced by Ferrell's comments in the book "Live From New York," recounting the behind-the-scenes history of the show. "The worst host was Chevy Chase," Ferrell said, recalling that he and the rest of the cast felt there was something off about Chase from the get-go. "I don't know if he was on something or what, if he took too many back pills that day or something, but he was just kind of going around the room and systematically riffing," Ferrell said.

According to Ferrell, Chase's mockery of the cast and writers took a wildly inappropriate turn when he got to a female writer and jokingly suggested she perform a sex act on him. "And I've never seen ["SNL" creator] Lorne [Michaels] more embarrassed and red," Ferrell added.

Back in his heyday as the bad boy of radio, Howard Stern viciously insulted various celebrities, including the likes of Rosie O'Donnell and Kathie Lee Gifford, among others. One of his most bitter feuds, however, was with Chevy Chase. It began in 1994 when a listener called in with a tape he'd made of Chase making comments slagging Stern. "Boy, he's an ass. I can't stand him ... he's got the brain of an egg timer," Chase said of Stern while speaking with interviewer Larry King. Chase continued to bash Stern, adding, "There's nothing there, nothing." Stern was not pleased and addressed him directly. "Chevy, be prepared for your life to become very miserable," Stern said. "You have no idea the hornet's nest you just stepped into."

Stern was not exaggerating, which became clear when he obtained Chase's home number and called him up while on the air. "He sucks, man. What happened to that guy?" Stern said on his radio show while waiting for Chase to pick up the phone. "Why are you badmouthing me?" Stern asked Chase when he finally answered. Chase insisted he hadn't badmouthed Stern, but then declared, "This is my home, and I don't like you, okay? Is that clear? So don't call my home again." Chase then hung up the phone. "That was some real anger," Stern observed.

Years later, Chase called in to Stern's show, and the two buried the hatchet. Stern subsequently invited Chase to his wedding to Beth Ostrosky — where Chase made a spontaneous toast that was actually a filthy, wildly inappropriate roast. 

Director Chris Columbus has brought film fans such hits as "Home Alone," "Mrs. Doubtfire," and a couple of "Harry Potter" movies, to name just a few. He nearly directed "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," in which Chevy Chase reprised the character of perpetually befuddled suburban dad Clark Griswold. 

As Columbus told Vanity Fair, he'd been working with screenwriter John Hughes on the film, and had agreed to direct. "I was signed on ... and then I met Chevy Chase," recalled Columbus, who at the time was still an unproven rookie director. "Even given my situation at the time, where I desperately needed to make a film, I realized I couldn't work with the guy," he added. "I was one of the many who couldn't work with him. And I called John and I said, "This is really hard for me, but I can't do this movie with Chevy Chase.""

According to Columbus, he had two meetings with Chase — which he found to be two too many. During the first, Chase feigned ignorance of who Columbus was. Then, he and Chase met again over dinner. "We spent two hours together, and I left the dinner and I thought, "There's no way I can make a movie with this guy,"" Columbus said. "He's treating me like s***. I don't need this. I'd rather not work again." 

When considering the most awkward moments that aired on "Saturday Night Live," it's key to remember that even more awkward exchanges took place behind the scenes. This was the case in the series' 11th season, when Chevy Chase was a guest host.

Among the new cast members that year were future Marvel star Robert Downey Jr. According to Downey's fellow cast member Terry Sweeney, he and the rest of the cast considered Chase a legend and were beyond thrilled that one of the original Not Ready for Primetime Players would be joining them. "And we were just excited to work with him," Sweeney told "Live from New York." 

The cast's excitement quickly turned to disgust when they actually met Chase. "And when he got there, he was a monster," Sweeney continued. "I mean, he insulted everybody. He said to Robert Downey Jr., "Didn't your father used to be a successful director? Whatever happened to him? Boy, he sure died, you know, he sure went to hell." Downey turned ashen."

When Terry Sweeney joined the "Saturday Night Live" cast in 1985, he made TV history as the show's first openly gay cast member. That status drew some unwelcome attention when Chevy Chase hosted, as Sweeney recalled in "Live from New York."

According to Sweeney, immediately after Chase mocked Robert Downey Jr.'s father, he became his next target. "Chevy turned to me and he said, "Oh you're the gay guy right? I've got an idea for a sketch for you. How about we say you have AIDS and we weigh you every week?'"" Sweeney said. That was so over the line that Chase was forced to apologize to Sweeney — which did not go well. "He was really furious that he had to apologize to me. And it was just awful," Sweeney added. "He acted horribly to me. He acted horribly to everyone."

In the 2026 documentary "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not," Chase was confronted with Sweeney's allegation. "My memory is that he is lying, is my memory. He's not telling the truth," Chase said (via People), insisting a cruel joke like that was out of character for him. "I don't think he's alive anymore," Chase said of Sweeney — who responded via instant message, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "Don't you think he is saying this and making himself look more like the ass he is!!!"

Kevin Smith is known for directing such films as "Clerks," "Mallrats," and "Chasing Amy," in which he also portrays his signature character, Silent Bob. At some point, Smith was looking to reboot the "Fletch" movie franchise with Chevy Chase, who had starred in 1985's "Fletch" and its sequel, "Fletch Lives." As Chase recalled in an interview (via Laker Jim's Fletch Won Interviews), he had lunch with Smith, who, said Chase, expressed his excitement about the project. However, Chase then claimed he waited years before hearing, from someone else, that Smith no longer had any interest in working with him. Chase blasted Smith for "rudely deceiving me ... he can shove it up his hole ... he owes me one hell of an explanation."

Smith, writing in his Silent Bob Speaks blog, confirmed that he met with Chase about reviving "Fletch," but also revealed that he first met with studio executive Brian Grazer, who was shocked Smith wanted to work with Chase. "Brian points out that Chevy hasn't had an audience in years, and he's legendarily hard to work with," Smith wrote, but insisted on meeting "with one of my all-time heroes, Chevy Chase." During that meeting, however, Smith was bowled over by Chase's egotism. "At the lunch, Chevy went on to claim he invented every funny thing that ever happened in the history of not just comedy, but also the known world," Smith wrote.

As for why he didn't call Chase, Smith explained he'd been making another film, "Dogma," which consumed all his time, and "Fletch" fell by the wayside. As for Chase's demand that he was owed an explanation, Smith added, "But I owe that guy nothing."

By the latter part of the 2000s, Chevy Chase's career was the opposite of hot when he was cast in NBC sitcom "Community." The series followed a group of misfits attending a third-rate community college, with Chase playing a wealthy and clueless geriatric student, Pierce Hawthorne. The show proved to be a hit with critics and viewers, and revived Chase's career.

After a few years, however, reports emerged of tension between Chase and his co-stars — in particular, the series' creator, Dan Harmon. The extent of that feud was revealed in 2012 when Deadline reported that Chase walked off the set on the final day of shooting, without filming scenes that were meant to close out the season. At the season-ending wrap party, Harmon reportedly gave what was described as a "F*** you Chevy" speech, and then led cast and crew in a chant of "f*** you" — all while Chase, his wife, and daughter watched. 

Chase subsequently called Harmon and left a furious voicemail — which Harmon played in public, and was subsequently leaked (via The Hollywood Reporter). In his message, Chase derided "Community" as "a f***ing medicore sitcom" that "ain't funny to me."

Harmon subsequently apologized for going public with Chase's scathing message. "That was a dumb, unclassy, inconsiderate move on my part," he wrote in a Tumblr post. Chase abruptly parted ways with the show soon after that, but the circumstances surrounding his exit would prove even more shocking.

One of the stars of "Community" was Donald Glover, whose career skyrocketed after the show ended, due to his musical alter ego Childish Gambino, and his critically acclaimed FX series "Atlanta." In a 2018 profile in The New Yorker on Glover, "Community" creator Dan Harmon claimed that Chase frequently tried to mess with Glover in scenes by making racially charged jokes. "Chevy was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off," Harmon said. "I am saddened to hear that Donald perceived me in that light," Chase told the magazine in response (via The Hollywood Reporter).

In 2023, Glover was presenting an award when he implied that Chase had directed a racial slur at him and other Black members of the cast. That account was confirmed by "Community" producer Jay Chandrasekhar, who was directing when Chase used the N-word in a scene with Black co-star Yvette Nicole Brown. "I know that there was a history between [Chase and Brown] around race, and she got up and stormed out of there," Chandrasekhar said when interviewed for the documentary "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" (via Variety). According to Chandrasekhar, he then implored Chase to apologize to Brown. "He goes, "For what?"" Chandrasekhar recalled.

"Community" star Joel McHale had his own issues with Chevy Chase while working with him on the series. As McHale wrote in his 2016 memoir, "Thanks for the Money," it quickly became evident that Chase was unhappy while shooting "Community." McHale offered a theory: in the heyday of his stardom, Chase had been "the handsome, cool, self-assured sarcastic guy," and was now playing a befuddled old man with a racist streak. "Let's face it: I had been cast in the "classic Chevy Chase role,"" McHale wrote. "This was probably very difficult for Chevy to come to grips with." According to McHale, Chase was not easy to deal with. "Chevy was indeed difficult," McHale continued. "And, not surprisingly, he often zeroed in on me."

That led to altercations that often got physical. Appearing on the "Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum" podcast, McHale was asked if he'd gotten into fistfights with Chase. "Multiple times," he replied. "There was pushing and shoving, yeah ... it wasn't fun."

McHale offered more insight when he visited "The Howard Stern Show." "He just didn't want to be there," McHale recalled, and also addressed Chase's use of the N-word on set. "You shouldn't be throwing that around," he said, recalling, "When he said it, I was like, "We are now at DEFCON 1.""

There have been some wild rumors about Pete Davidson, but one thing that has been absolutely verified is the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member's dislike for Chevy Chase. During a 2018 interview with The Washington Post, Chase shared his opinion on Lorne Michaels, Davidson, and the rest of the "SNL" cast at the time. "First of all, between you and me and a lamppost, jeez, I don't want to put down Lorne or the cast, but I'll just say, maybe off the record, I'm amazed that Lorne has gone so low," he said. 

Davidson was asked about Chase's comments when he appeared on "The Howard Stern Show," and he pulled no punches in his scorched-earth response. "F*** Chevy Chase. I hate that dude. He's just a genuinely bad, racist person and I don't like him. F*** him. He's a putz. I don't like him," Davidson said, as reported by TheWrap. Davidson then proceeded to dump on Chase's career slump in recent years. "What has he done since '83? Like, nothing," Davidson continued. "He had a really big career, and then it stopped because everybody realized he's a jerk ..." 

Chase had something to say about Davidson's diss, and remained completely unrepentant. "I don't give a crap!" Chase said when interviewed for "CBS Sunday Morning" (as reported by the New York Post). "I am who I am ... I just don't care."