Chevy Chase on SNL 50th Anniversary Snub: 'Somebody Made a Bad Mistake'

Why was Saturday Night Live's original superstar left on the sidelines? Comedy legend Chevy Chase has broken his silence on being excluded from the show's landmark 50th-anniversary special earlier this year, revealing that the decision "hurt" him. In an upcoming documentary, he openly questioned the snub, asking, "Why was I left aside?"

"Why Was Bill Murray There and Why Was I Not?"

According to Entertainment Weekly, Chase's comments come from the new CNN documentary, 'I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not'. “Well, it was kind of upsetting actually,” Chase said. “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.” He specifically pointed to the 'Weekend Update' segment, which he originated. "Why was Bill Murray there and why was I not? I don't have an answer for that."

Chase was a foundational member of SNL's first cast in 1975 and became its first breakout star. He revealed in the film that he texted creator Lorne Michaels about the exclusion but then retracted it. “Somebody’s made a bad mistake there. I don’t know who it was, but somebody made a mistake,” he stated. “They should’ve had me on that stage. It hurt.”

Conflicting Stories from Behind the Scenes

Adding a layer to the story, Chase's wife, Jayni, claims he was supposed to be involved. She shared that people "told Chevy up until that day that there were two bits... And then, all of the sudden, 'No, there's no bit.'"

Lorne Michaels himself seemed to confirm a last-minute change of plans. "There were a couple versions of ['Weekend Update'] and we went back and forth on that," he said in the documentary. However, he also hinted at the reason, adding, "There was also a caution from somebody that I don't want to name that Chevy, you know, wasn't as focused."