Joel McHale Doesn't Care What Chevy Chase Thinks Of 'Community'

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 12, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 12, 2023 |

Joel McHale seems like a nice guy. I hope it’s not just an act. Many celebrities are kind in public, hiding raging tempers (or worse). Something about McHale seems genuine. For instance, I don’t see Joel McHale as someone who would spend his time trashing a television show he was on. He doesn’t strike me as the type to make racist and misogynistic comments on set. He’s not Chevy Chase.

Chase, who co-starred with McHale on Community, recently appeared on WTF with Marc Maron. He discussed the Dan Harmon-created show with less-than-flattering remarks. “I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. I felt a little bit constrained,” Chase said. “Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.” “Not hard-hitting enough” sure sounds like code for “they didn’t let me say the n-word.”

These comments got back to McHale, and he took the high road. Speaking to People he said, “He stopped hurting my feelings in 2009,” the former Talk Soup host joked. He then went on to muse further about Chase’s petty comments. “I was like, ‘Hey, no one was keeping you there.’ I mean, we weren’t sentenced to that show. It was like, ‘All right, you could have left if you really wanted that.’ But yeah, you know Chevy. That’s Chevy being Chevy.”

The cast of Community was fantastic. Every one of them has been successful outside of Community. Regardless, as long as Chase is alive and has access to a microphone, they will have to respond to his shittiness. It sucks. They aren’t going to trash him (even if he does deserve it), but every few years, they will have to comment on someone they didn’t want to be around in the first place.

With a Community movie on the way, the questions will surely ramp up. Chase’s exclusion, though obvious, will be talked about. The stars will make jokes and try to play nice. They won’t go hard shitting on a former co-star because they don’t have to. They aren’t Chevy Chase.