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In the new CNN documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, a remark Chevy Chase made to director Marina Zenovich sparked backlash from viewers
After insisting it would be difficult for her to figure him out, he claimed it was because Zenovich is “not bright enough”
While some took it has humorous, others were offended by the comment amid Chase’s checkered past
Chevy Chase isn’t one to hold back what he’s thinking.
In CNN’s new authorized documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, the 82-year-old comedian takes a look back at the ups and downs of his career. Despite being a controversial figure in Hollywood, Chase proved to be unfiltered as ever during an interaction with director Marina Zenovich just minutes into the film.
“I’m just trying to figure you out,” she told the Saturday Night Live alum.
“No s—,” he replied. “It’s not going to be easy for you.”
When Zenovich questioned why he believed that, he quipped, “You’re not bright enough. How’s that?”
“Woah,” the filmmaker reacted.
Jamie McCarthy/Peacock via Getty
Chevy Chase
“Well you asked,” Chase continued. “I know you’re not gonna put that on the air, and I hope not. But my answer is, I’m complex, and I’m deep and I can be hurt easily. And I react spontaneously to people who want to figure me out, as it were. As somebody who will hold up my guard, I’m not gonna let anybody figure me out, per se.”
The comment sparked a debate among fans, who took to social media to voice their opinions.
“Kind of immature, no?” one user wrote on X.
While someone else added, “He thinks no one has him figured out and everyone did figure him out and didn’t like what they saw,” another defended Chase and his humor: “He is who he is, love him or hate him. Sometimes you have to take the artist with the art.”
Chase rose to fame in the 1970s hosting the Weekend Update on SNL’s debut season (the CNN doc is titled after his well-known catch phrase on the iconic sketch comedy show). He went on to star in several hit projects, including Foul Play, the Vacation series and Community — from which he was fired in 2012 after using the N-word on set.
In I’m Chevy Chase, he said, “I don’t give a crap” when it comes to the negative press surrounding his name, although he shared a different sentiment with PEOPLE during a recent interview about the documentary.
“I can be hurt easily,” he admitted. “I prefer to be liked, not disliked.”
Jardin Althaus/NBC
Chevy Chase on ‘Community’
In the aftermath of the incident, Chase apologized to the Community cast and later explained that he used the slur while making a point about his bigoted character, Pierce Hawthorne. The show’s director, Jay Chandrasekhar, said during an interview in I’m Chevy Chase that the actor had a “meltdown” stemming from a “blackface” hand-puppet bit written for his character.
At the time, The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Chase was “frustrated” with the direction Pierce was going and used the N-word “when questioning the dialogue.” The outlet further clarified that while stars Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown, who are both Black, were present, “The slur was not directed at them.”
Chase told PEOPLE that he decided to participate in the documentary because he’s always been misunderstood.
“I’m a normal civilian,” he said. “If I have an argument with someone, it’s done in 30 minutes, but a story will go through my whole history.”
His wife Jayni added, “People grow. No one is the same person they were 30 years ago.”
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I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not is available on demand for CNN’s All Access subscribers and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
Read the original article on People