- - Chevy Chase Recalls Childhood Physical Abuse by 'Out of Control' Mom, 'Humorless' Stepdad in New Doc (Exclusive)

Gillian TellingJanuary 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM

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Chevy Chase. -

Chevy Chase rose to fame as an original cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1975

In the new documentary I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not, the comedian addresses the physical abuse he suffered as a child

He was fired from the NBC sitcom Community, on which he appeared from 2009–14, after a racial incident on the set

In the new CNN documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not (titled after his Saturday Night Live Weekend Update catchphrase), Chevy Chase reveals a much deeper (and at times darker) personal side. The comedian rose to fame in 1975 during SNL’s first season and went on to star in hit movies like Foul Play, Caddyshack and the Vacation series.

His childhood in New York was marred by physical abuse at the hands of his mom, whom he calls “an out-of-control woman” in the doc, and his "humorless" stepdad.

“Not a lot of people knew about [the abuse],” Chase, 82, whose mom and his biological dad divorced when he was 4, tells People. “Some did, and some came close. But it was my true life.”

As an adult, he’s struggled with depression, cocaine and alcohol addiction and heart failure. He's also struggled with a negative public image over clashes with colleagues.

The documentary suggests that some of Chase's issues as an adult might stem from his traumatic childhood with his mother and stepfather.

"My father had a flash anger, and he could lash out with a single blow and no talk before or after," Chase's half-brother John Cederquist says in the doc. "He did not take to anything that he perceived as insolence. Chevy was insolent."

Chase says his old brother Ned was often his protector during abusive episodes, and asked whether he ever cut his mom and stepdad out of his life, he slaps his head as if swatting a fly, pretends to eat it and says, "Sorry."

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Chevy Chase and his wife Jayni on Feb. 16, 2025.

His wife of 43 years, producer Jayni Chase, 68, recalls a telling incident from early in their relationship. "The first time we stayed together, the first time I went to wake him up, he shuddered," she says in the film "He explained, ‘Well, my mother would wake me up slapping me.’ From the time he was a little guy: Wham!"

In an old clip shown in the doc, Chase, who was fired from the sitcom Community after using the N-word on the set, says, “I don’t give a crap” about his negative press. (He apologized to the cast and says he used the slur while making a point about his bigoted character.) But in a current interview, he says, “I can be hurt easily,” and “I prefer to be liked, not disliked.”

He was also “hurt” to be excluded from the SNL 50th anniversary celebration last February. “I didn’t enjoy that much,” he tells PEOPLE of feeling left out. “But [SNL creator] Lorne [Michaels] is like a brother. He’s got a lot of SNL kids out there, and he didn’t have time to get everyone up there, so I got over it.”

As headlines hit about the documentary, including ones about the racial incident on the set of Community, his former costar on the sitcom Yvette Nicole Brown posted a scathing Instagram post, without naming Chase.

In it, Brown, who is not featured in the documentary, wrote, "I've never had a problem speaking up and out with my whole chest when it is warranted or I when think it will change a wayward mind or some truly disgusting behavior.""When I choose NOT to speak on something it's usually because it won't change a thing and more importantly because it's most likely tawdry, low-vibrational or dumb and therefore BENEATH me.""I don't sully myself for anyone. We don't defile over here.And when someone chooses to sully or defile themselves, I let them — BIG age or not. And they need to fully own what they alone have done without placing blame or looking for scapegoats. Don't smear any of that mess over here for clout or reputation rehabilitation. This side of the street remains clean."

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Chevy Chase in 1977.

Chase tells PEOPLE he's always been misunderstood, which was why he agreed to do the documentary in the first place.

“I’m a normal civilian,” he says, addressing his bad press.

“If I have an argument with someone, it’s done in 30 minutes, but a story will go through my whole history.” His wife Jayni adds, “People grow. No one is the same person they were 30 years ago.”

I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not premieres Jan. 1 on CNN at 8 p.m. ET.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”