Joel McHale claims he dislocated Chevy Chase’s shoulder during ‘Community’ physical altercation

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He wasn’t feeling very collegiate.

Joel McHale, 52, who starred on “Community” from 2009 to 2014, has alleged that he had an “altercation” with co-star Chevy Chase, 80, behind the scenes.

McHale, who currently stars in the Fox workplace sitcom “Animal Control,” was a guest on a recent episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s “Inside of You” podcast, where he was asked if incidents with Chase ever got physical or verbal.

“It would get a little contentious. It would get to this point where I’m like, ‘OK…’ I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder,” said McHale.

“I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder,” Joel McHale, now 52, said about Chevy Chase, who is almost 30 years older. AP
“I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder,” Joel McHale, now 52, said about Chevy Chase, who is almost 30 years older. AP
Joel McHale said he had physical altercations with Chevy Chase “multiple times” on the “Community” set. Getty Images
Joel McHale said he had physical altercations with Chevy Chase “multiple times” on the “Community” set. Getty Images

He added that there were “multiple times” where a physical altercation involved shoving or pushing.

“It was an advanced horseplay,” he joked. “You know, horseplay, and then it always turned into sex. It wasn’t fun.”

“Community” ran for six seasons on NBC, following a group of people at a community college.

Along with McHale and Chase, it starred Donald Glover (“Atlanta”), Alison Brie (“GLOW”), Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”), Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown and Jim Rash.

McHale has made no secret that there’s no love lost between him and Chase. In his 2016 memoir “Thanks for the Money,” he even wrote a “step by step on how to fight Chevy Chase.”

According to McHale, Chase never reached out to him about that chapter in his book.

Joel McHale said he thinks that Chevy Chase “knows” that he’s “an a – – hole.” Getty Images
Joel McHale said he thinks that Chevy Chase “knows” that he’s “an a – – hole.” Getty Images
Ken Jeong, Donald Glover, Joel McHale (standing), Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Chevy Chase (foreground, in vest) on the set of “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Ken Jeong, Donald Glover, Joel McHale (standing), Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Chevy Chase (foreground, in vest) on the set of “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

“Does he know he’s an a – – hole?” Rosenbaum asked on the podcast.

McHale replied that he “would think so.”

During a 2023 interview on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, Chase said that he didn’t think “Community” was “funny enough.”

“I felt a little bit constrained a bit. Everyone had their bits and stuff. I thought they were all good, but it just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me,” the former “Saturday Night Live” star said.

“My response to that was, ‘Well, yeah the feeling is mutual about your attitude, and you didn’t have to be there,’ ” McHale said on the “Inside of You” podcast.

“He’s like, ‘I didn’t want to be around the table with those people.’ And like Gillian would say, ‘[The] feeling’s mutual.’ This was not a prison sentence. We were not conscripted into a war,” said McHale.

“You were being paid a lot of money and getting free food all day long, so you could just walk away.”

“The feeling is mutual about your attitude” Joel McHale (right) said about Chevy Chase. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“The feeling is mutual about your attitude” Joel McHale (right) said about Chevy Chase. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Chevy Chase (far left), Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown and Alison Brie in a scene from “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Chevy Chase (far left), Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown and Alison Brie in a scene from “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

Chase starred in four seasons of “Community.” The “Caddyshack” star made some guest appearances in Season 5, and didn’t appear in Season 6.

Chase was fired from the show in 2013 after allegedly using a racist slur toward Glover during filming and following a heated confrontation with its creator, Dan Harmon.

Glover, 40, also known as Childish Gambino, claimed that Chase used the N-word while on a rant about his issues with his character.

Chevy Chase (from left), David Neher, Joel McHale and Yvette Nicole Brown in “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Chevy Chase (from left), David Neher, Joel McHale and Yvette Nicole Brown in “Community.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Chevy Chase (far right) allegedly said a racial slur to Donald Glover. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Chevy Chase (far right) allegedly said a racial slur to Donald Glover. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection

The “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” star’s on-set behavior was called into question by Harmon and Glover in a 2018 in a piece for the New Yorker.

“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,” Harmon alleged at the time.

“I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-PC verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’ ”

The “Hot Tub Time Machine” star didn’t deny using the slur during an interview with the Washington Post later that same year.

“I could have said it,” Chase told the outlet, before noting it would have been misinterpreted. He then added that he had been a fan of Glover’s the entire time they worked together on “Community” and denied that he was a bigot.

Joel McHale (left) said he got in “trouble” for injuring Chevy Chase in a fight behind the scenes. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Joel McHale (left) said he got in “trouble” for injuring Chevy Chase in a fight behind the scenes. ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
A “Community” movie is in production, and Chevy Chase will likely not return. Mitchell Haaseth
A “Community” movie is in production, and Chevy Chase will likely not return. Mitchell Haaseth

In 2022, a film continuation of the 2009 series was announced to be in development by Peacock. It’s unlikely that Chase will reprise his role as Pierce Hawthorne.

“I know the outline for the script [and] it’s on track now to happen. Peacock has given us the money,” McHale told The Post in March 2023.

“We still are all kind of like ‘Can you believe this is actually happening?’ ”

The Post reached out to Chase for comment.