Glaringly Obvious Signs Chevy Chase's Reputation In Hollywood Will Never Recover

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It's common for fans to say that you should never meet your idols. Sometimes, this motto is confirmed when the behavior of some Hollywood stars is shown to the world. Chevy Chase was once the personification of comedy, starring in hits like "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Caddyshack," and "Fletch." During his stint on "Saturday Night Live," he was a fan-favorite for his talent. However, his career started to take a downward spiral once people who worked with him revealed some of the problematic behavior that Chase displayed at work.

While his popularity grew on "SNL" — he was the "Weekend Update" original host — Chase's co-stars believed his ego started inflating and, according to past "SNL" cast members, working with him became a challenge. Ever since then, Chase's reputation started preceding him, and it got to a point where everywhere he worked, someone seemed to have something bad to say about him.

Not that Chase isn't aware of all that. In fact, his oft maligned behavior was on display in the CNN documentary "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not." In one moment of the documentary, Chase is shown being rude, presumably to director Marina Zenovich. He basically calls her stupid, as seen in a video circulating through TikTok and X. Chase snarks, "You're not bright enough. How's that?" and sparked ire from netizens for his attitude.

After less than two seasons, Chevy Chase decided to leave "Saturday Night Live" and moved to Hollywood, where his now-ex-wife Jacqueline Carlin lived. However, in 1978, he returned as a host and met Bill Murray, who had been dubbed "the new Chevy" (per UCR). According to the book "Live From New York" by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, Chase and Murray didn't see eye to eye, and their distaste for each other reached a point where they physically fought. Chase insisted to Esquire that it never got to the point where either of them got hurt, though. He said, "Billy Murray and I came to fisticuffs, but we never really ended up hitting each other. We tried, but [John] Belushi got in the middle and we both ended up hitting John."

Chase only returned for another participation on "SNL" nearly 20 years later, on Season 22. For the show's 50th anniversary in 2025, his invitation felt like an afterthought. He was at the show along with some original cast members, but he didn't take part in any sketches. In the CNN documentary, Chase said (per People): "Well, it was kind of upsetting actually. ... I expected that I would've been on the stage too with all the other actors. ... No one asked me to. Why was I left aside?"

There were times in which Chevy Chase's behavior prevented some collaborations from even starting. Chris Columbus revealed a shocking story in which he felt humiliated by Chase. In 1989, Columbus was just starting his directing career when he was invited by John Hughes to helm "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." However, Columbus revealed to Vanity Fair in 2024 that his first meeting with Chase was a disaster.

Columbus reported that he talked to Chase for almost an hour about the movie they were making together, when suddenly Chase asked him if he was the director. After Columbus confirmed, Chase left the meeting. The second time they met was even worse: according to Columbus, during a two-hour dinner with Hughes, and Chase ignored Columbus' presence the whole time.

The director continued, " ... I thought, There's no way I can make a movie with this guy. First of all, he's not engaged. He's treating me like s***. I don't need this. I'd rather not work again. ... I thought, This was how we're going to work together? I'm going to be on set and he's not listening." Columbus eventually gave up on directing the movie, even though he had already filmed some scenes.

Chevy Chase did have many problems with several actors, but we can't deny that he has talent. In 2009, he joined the cast of "Community," an NBC sitcom that eventually became known as one of the most daring comedy series ever created. Onscreen, he made audiences laugh as an older guy struggling to fit in with a group of younger people. Behind the scenes, however, the situation was less funny.

His former co-star Joel McHale said during a 2024 participation on the podcast "Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum" that their physical fights got so ugly that McHale dislocated Chase's shoulder one time. In 2023, Chase dissed his participation in "Community" and shared on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast, "I felt happier being alone. I just didn't want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much." McHale clapped back through People: "I was like, 'Hey, no one was keeping you there.'"

Chase's biggest feud, however, was with "Community" creator Dan Harmon. They didn't see eye to eye on set, and after a wrap party in which Harmon gathered crew members to shout "F*** you, Chevy," the actor infamously left a series of angry voice mails calling Harmon names. The voice messages leaked after Harmon played them to a live audience, and Chase eventually was fired from the show. Harmon stated in an Uproxx interview, however, that he and Chase resolved their issues and remained friends (via SlashFilm). With all these problems, though, it seems unlikely that Chase would get invited to star in another sitcom.

Chevy Chase shows little signs of wanting to course-correct his decades-long behavior. In 2022, he spoke with CBS's "This Morning" and seemed firm on his beliefs. In the interview, he said, "I don't give a crap! I am who I am. And I like ... who I am. I don't care" (via The Mary Sue).

The CNN documentary "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" underscores this position, but offers a bit of complexity to his character. The movie indicates that his demeanor might have stemmed from one of the tragedies of Chase's life — the physical abuse he dealt with as a child. It also reveals that, despite his fiery personality, Chase still retains a loyal fanbase, which might represent an endorsement for him. All in all, Chase presents himself as unfazed by the fact that a lot of people seem to hate him.

"I don't think I sabotaged my career," he said to The New York Times. "I think we go up and down and up and down, up and down. You make mistakes. You make mistakes. You don't make so many mistakes. You learn more, and then you get to where I am now, where I don't think any of that matters anymore. All that matters is how I am with people throughout the rest of my life."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.