Highlights

• Billy Joel revealed in a recent interview that Chevy Chase and Bill Murray got into a physical fight backstage at SNL before a show.
• Chevy Chase admitted he was full of himself after gaining fame, leading to tension with Bill Murray. Their relationship has since improved.
• Chevy Chase's behavior on the set of 'Community' has been described as problematic and racist by co-stars, though he remains unapologetic.

Saturday Night Live is a show that has been known to produce breakout stars in comedy. Chevy Chase was one of those breakout stars. When he left the SNL cast to ride the wave of his newfound fame, the rest of the cast felt abandoned.

This tension was still very high when Chase returned to host an episode of the show the following year.

According to several accounts, new cast member Bill Murray got into a physical fight with Chase backstage before showtime. Recently, a new account has been added as Billy Joel, who served as the night's musical guest, opened up to Howard Stern.

Billy Joel Told Howard Stern The Backstage Fight Took Place Seconds Before Showtime

In 1978, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray got into a physical fight backstage at Saturday Night Live just seconds before showtime. This revelation came courtesy of the night's musical guest, Billy Joel, who shared his recollection with Howard Stern.

"Chevy was kind of being overbearing and everybody was pissed off at Chevy," Joel told Stern. Joel then imitated SNL alum Jane Curtin, who was pacing around backstage whispering, "God d***it, f*** him."

"We're like, these people are crazy. They're going to go do a TV show now?" Joel said. "And somebody said something and then Bill Murray goes to punch (Chevy). And we're like, they're going to go on TV like in three seconds!"

Chase himself previously spoke with Stern about the incident as well. He claimed that he was "was probably a little bit full of myself after a year of fame." He also said that Murray "probably wanted to knock me down a couple of rungs" after hearing rumors about Chase from John Belushi.

Murray was hired as Chase's replacement in 1977 following his departure from the show. According to Murray, the rest of the cast felt abandoned by Chase when he left. Joel said cast members were cursing Chase backstage throughout the show.

"And basically, words were said — just before the show in the makeup room — and he got me really pissed," Chase remembered. "I was ready to level him, and he was probably ready to scratch me up."

According to Chase, Belushi ended up getting caught in the middle of the fight. However, Chase did say that his relationship with Murray has improved since then.

"We've never been close, but we've been very friendly, we play golf together," Chase said. "I think we've made an effort over the years to get to know each other better and to put that stuff behind."

Chevy Chase Didn't Have A Good Reputation With His 'Community' Co-Stars Either

During his run on Community, Chase's behavior has been described as "problematic" by his co-stars. Many have labeled his on-set behavior as racist, misogynistic and "horrific." However, during a 2022 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the actor said that he doesn't care.

"I guess you’d have to ask them," Chase responded when asked if stories of him being a "jerk" on set were true. " I don’t give a crap. I am who I am. And I like who I am. I don’t care. And it’s part of me that I don’t care. And I’ve thought about that a lot. And I don’t know what to tell you, man. I just don’t care."

In 2018, Chase's Community co-star Donald Glover told The New Yorker that Chase would make racist jokes on set. The article said that Chase would "often tried to disrupt" his scenes with Glover by making "racial cracks between takes." One of which was, "People think you’re funnier because you’re Black."

"Chevy was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off," Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, said. "I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-P.C. verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’"

Glover said that he felt Chase's remarks were an example of the actor "thrashing in the water."

"I just saw Chevy as fighting time—a true artist has to be ok with his reign being over," Glover said. "I can’t help him if he’s thrashing in the water. But I know there’s a human in there somewhere—he’s almost too human."

Chevy Chase Got Into Another Physical Fight With 'Community' Co-Star Joel McHale

In 2024, Joel McHale was a guest on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast Inside of You. During the conversation, McHale told Rosembaum that he didn't get along with Chase on the set of Community.

In fact, McHale revealed the two would sometimes get into physical altercations. In his 2016 memoir "Thanks for the Money," McHale wrote a chapter which he described as a "step by step on how to fight Chevy Chase."

Rosembaum asked McHale if these altercations were verbal or physical. McHale replied that they did get physical and there were "multiple times" when these altercations involved pushing and shoving.

"It was advanced horseplay," McHale said, before joking, "You know, horseplay, and then it always turned into sex. It wasn’t fun."

McHale then revealed that he even got into trouble after one of the altercations resulted in Chase getting injured.

"It would get a little contentious," McHale admitted. "It would get to this point where I'm like, 'Okay...' I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder."

"Do you think he knows that he could be an a******?" Rosenbaum asked McHale.

McHale said he "would think so."