As renewed attention swirls around a long-discussed incident from the set of “Community,” actress Yvette Nicole Brown is making one thing unmistakably clear: she will speak for herself, or not at all.
Earlier this week, ahead of CNN’s upcoming documentary, “I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not,” Brown shared an impassioned message on social media pushing back against what she described as people speaking on her behalf without her consent. The film revisits allegations tied to Chevy Chase’s departure from “Community” and includes claims about an on-set incident involving Brown.
“These are things I’ve never spoken of publicly and perhaps never will,” Brown wrote, emphasizing that anyone claiming insight into her experience is doing so “without EVER speaking to me about the things they claim to know about.” She closed the message bluntly: “In East Cleveland speak: Keep my name out of your mouth.”
The documentary revisits a controversial moment described by former “Community” director Jay Chandrasekhar, who alleges he witnessed an incident connected to a storyline involving Chase’s character, Pierce Hawthorne. According to Chandrasekhar, the situation escalated after Chase allegedly directed a racial slur toward Brown, prompting her to leave the set visibly upset. He further claims tensions intensified after reports of a “racial incident” surfaced in the press, leading to what he described as an explosive reaction from Chase over the leak.
Chase ultimately exited “Community” after season four, though he later returned briefly in season five.
Brown, however, made it clear she has no interest in relitigating the past in public. In a follow-up message, she explained that she chooses carefully when to speak out and when not to.
“When I choose NOT to speak on something it’s usually because it won’t change a thing,” she wrote, adding that the current discourse is “beneath” her.
Notably, none of Brown’s “Community” castmates, including Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Joel McHale, or Gillian Jacobs, participated in the film. The documentary traces Chase’s career from “Saturday Night Live” fame to later accusations of being difficult to work with and premiered on CNN on New Year’s Day.
For Brown, the message is less about revisiting old wounds and more about reclaiming agency. In an industry quick to recycle controversy, she’s choosing control over her own narrative and the right to keep parts of it private.
