Yvette Nicole Brown Appears to Put CNN Chevy Chase Doc on Blast: “Keep My Name Out of Your Mouth”

Yvette Nicole Brown is speaking out ahead of the release of CNN’s documentary on Chevy Chase, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which reopens old wounds from the set of NBC’s Community involving allegations of racist slurs and harassment.

Brown, who starred as Shirley Bennett on the comedy, posted a statement on Instagram that appeared to address the documentary, though she never referenced it by name.

“These are things I’ve never spoken of publicly and perhaps never will,” Smith wrote. “Anyone currently speaking FOR or ABOUT me with perceived authority is speaking without EVER speaking to me about the things they claim to know about. They actually don’t really know me — at all.”

She continued, “They also have no knowledge of my relationship with anyone I’ve worked with & cannot credibly speak on any current or previous issues. I hate that this all had to be said. In East Cleveland speak: Keep my name out of your mouth.”

No one in the Community cast agreed to participate in the documentary, directed by Maria Zenovich (2008’s Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, 2020’s Lance), which details the events that led to Chase’s firing from the show in 2012, midway through its fourth season.

According to the documentary, Chase felt ostracized by the tight-knit cast, which besides Brown included breakout stars like Donald Glover, Alison Brie and Joel McHale.

He also clashed with series creator Dan Harmon, a feud that culminated with Chase arriving with his family to a wrap party only to find Harmon leading the room in a chant of, “Fuck you, Chevy!”

The incident that led to his firing involved a scene in which Chase’s character Pierce Hawthorne performs a puppet show in which the hand puppet character performs in blackface.

An argument over the appropriateness of the scene between Chase and Brown allegedly included an utterance of the N-word by Chase, which led to Brown storming off the set.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar, who did participate in the doc, was present for the incident.

“I know that there was a history between [Chevy and Yvette] around race, and she got up and stormed out of there. Chevy storms off, so the producer is like, ‘We need Yvette in the scene, right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, she’s in the next scene.’ And he goes, ‘Well, she won’t come out unless Chevy apologizes to her,’” Chandrasekhar recalled.

Chase did return to set, according to Chandrasekhar, but did not apologize.

“He goes, ‘You know, me and Richard Pryor, I used to call Richard Pryor the N-word, and he used to call me The Honky, and we loved each other.’ And I’m like, ‘I know, man, I love that bit.’ I said, ‘You know, can we just have a little apology?’ He goes, ‘For what?’” Chandrasekhar said.

(A tense exchange between Chase and Pryor on The Tonight Show in 1977, in which Pryor said, “I don’t like Chevy,” suggests the pair may not have been as tight as Chase claims.)

The Hollywood Reporter ran a story on the incident, leading Chase to have “a full meltdown,” the director recalls, shouting, “Who fucked me over?! … My career is ruined! I’m ruined! Fuck all of you!”

He was fired from the show that evening. Chase does not comment on the incident in the documentary.

Elsewhere, the film revealed Chase was so unpopular on set that Harmon wrote his character breaking both legs into the plot, so that Chase could film his scenes in a wheelchair separate from the rest of the cast.

Chase’s wife, Jayni Chase, also says Chase was drinking heavily at that time and showing up to work drunk.

The CNN documentary, which premieres Jan. 1, features archival footage and new interviews with former colleagues and co-stars like Lorne Michaels and Goldie Hawn. It also includes new interviews with Chase.

The film tracks the comedian’s rise in the 1970s as one of the original stars of Saturday Night Live, his blockbuster movie years with the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise and his later reputation as a difficult collaborator.

Brown and Chase did not respond to THR’s request for comment.