Fans of NBC’s “Community” know Chevy Chase’s character, Pierce Hawthorne, as a hilarious, self-centered, casual bigot and curmudgeon, a contradiction to Chase’s previous comedic characters. But, it looks like Chase may be more like his new character than fans would like, as it’s been revealed that Chase dropped the n-word during a recent on-set blowup.
According to TV Line, several sources have confirmed that Chase was struggling with his character’s dialogue on Friday afternoon, Oct. 19, when he uttered the offensive word in front of his black co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover.
Chase didn’t direct the racial epithet at Brown or Glover, but his outburst caused an interruption in production, until he later called the cast and crew together and made a formal apology for using the offensive slur.
For months, Chase has been publicly complaining about the series creator, Dan Harmon, and the dark direction his character is taking. Ironically, sources for Deadline say that Chase’s outburst was fueled by his frustration over lines which he deemed offensive, complaining that the way the writing is going, his character may end up being asked to call Troy (Glover) and Shirley (Brown) the n-word.
And, even more confounding is the fact that Chase is viewed as quite liberal and he even marched in the civil rights movement.
Unfortunately, Chase isn’t the only star who’s made the mistake of using the n-word. Check out some other white stars caught using the racial epithet below. – nicholas robinson
