Joel McHale Recalls 'Fist Fighting' Chevy Chase on Set of 'Community': 'He Wanted Me to Punch Him As Hard As I Could'

Few comedians alive today have acquired as polarizing a reputation as Saturday Night Live's legendary breakout star, Chevy Chase.

The first major comedian to exit NBC's hit sketch comedy series, Chase quickly enjoyed a successful stint in mainstream Hollywood, starring in such celebrated comedies as National Lampoon's Vacation and Caddyshack, among many others.

Over the years, however, various stories have emerged about Chase's infamously combative behavior off-screen, with many of his former co-stars detailing their heated confrontations with Chase behind the scenes.

One such star was Chase's co-star Joel McHale, who appeared opposite the iconic comedian in the fan-favorite NBC sitcomCommunity for a total of four seasons.

Speaking on theInside of You podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum in 2021, the now 54-year-old McHale revealed some of the more fiery interactions he had with Chase, including a legitimate physical altercation that broke out between the two stars.

"Did you see some nastiness?" Rosenbaum asked McHale.

"Oh my... yes!" McHale promptly answered.

"Like the worst of the worst?" Rosenbaum followed up.

"F**k yes," McHale said. "There's a chapter in [my] book I wrote about fighting him, on how to fight him... We had a step-by-step on how to fight Chevy Chase."

"Did you fight fists?" Rosenbaum asked.

"Multiple times," McHale revealed. "There was pushing and shoving, yeah. It was advanced horseplay."

"It would get a little contentious," the comedian continued. "I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder."

When speaking about the circumstances of the fight, McHale said that Chase encouraged him to punch him full-force in the middle of a boxing scene on the set of Community, leading to Chase's shoulder injury.

"He wanted me to punch him as hard as I could," McHale said. "I punched him in the hand with a left. And then he went down."

"We were in a scene, a boxing scene," the Scream 7 star explained. "He was like, 'You're not hitting me.' 'Well, all right, if you really want me to.'"

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 6:22 AM.