Chevy Chase, a founding member of the original “Saturday Night Live” cast, has spoken out about his exclusion from the “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” in CNN Films’ upcoming documentary, “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.” In an interview with People, Chase revealed that he was “hurt” by not being included in the milestone celebration.
During the documentary, Chase expressed his disappointment, stating, “Well, it was kind of upsetting actually. This is probably the first time I’m saying it. But I expected that I would’ve been on the stage too with all the other actors. When Garrett Morris and Laraine Newman were on stage, I was curious as to why I didn’t join them. No one asked me to. Why was I left aside?”
As the original anchor and co-creator of “Weekend Update,” Chase also questioned why his successor, Bill Murray, was included in the anniversary special while he was not. He admitted, “Why was Bill Murray there and why was I not? I don’t have an answer for that.”
Chase revealed that he had briefly brought up his exclusion to Lorne Michaels, the creator of “SNL,” in a text message but later retracted his comment, saying, “I said, ‘Okay, I take it back, silly.’ But it’s not that silly. Somebody’s made a bad mistake there. I don’t know who it was, but somebody made a mistake. They should’ve had me on that stage. It hurt.”
Despite attending the 50th-anniversary special in February, Chase’s involvement in the show was limited. According to the documentary, there were initially plans for Chase to have a more significant role in the event, with conflicting reports about the inclusion of certain segments. Michaels mentioned that there were discussions about featuring Chase in various bits, but ultimately, there were concerns about Chase’s focus.
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” is set to premiere on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN, shedding light on Chase’s feelings of exclusion from the “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” and the behind-the-scenes decisions that led to his limited participation in the milestone event.
