One of TV’s beloved sitcoms apparently dealt with as much drama offscreen as on.
On a recent episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Community star Joel McHale, 52, recalled getting into multiple physical altercations with his co-star Chevy Chase, 80.
The series ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2014. Chase starred as Pierce Hawthorne throughout the show’s run, but did not return for the final season, according to Variety.
“It was an advanced horseplay,” joked McHale at the 53:54 mark, per Variety. “You know, horseplay, and then it always turned into sex.”
“It would get a little contentious," he added. "It would get to this point…I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder.”
This isn’t the first time McHale has referenced this specific shoulder-snapping incident. During a 2013 interview on the Howard Stern Show, McHale recalled that Chase simply didn’t enjoying being on the set of the show, adding that efforts to cheer him up were met with resistance.
“When I would try, he would just try to fight me. Physically fight me,” McHale said at the time, per the Hollywood Reporter.
The publication noted that Chase’s outbursts and tension with other cast members infamously resulted in leaks from the set, and that the veteran actor’s issues were primarily with the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, who left the series after three seasons.
Stern also asked McHale about another on-set incident where Chase allegedly yelled the n-word to protest his character’s racism. The actor alleged that Chase claimed Richard Pryor had given him special permission to use the word.
“You shouldn’t be throwing it around on set,” McHale recalled to Stern. “It was one of the things on set where he used it, and when he said it, I said, ‘We are now on Defcon 1.’”
Recently Harmon gave Variety an update about the highly-anticipated Community film.
“I can confirm Donald Glover’s report that I told him the script was done, but I will also say Donald’s sources are so unreliable because the script is always ‘almost done,’” Harmon told the publication. “What can I tell you about it—it’s set on the campus of Greendale Community College. I’m super excited about it, and we’re almost done."
