Chevy Chase has finally spoken out about his absence from the Saturday Night Live SNL50 celebration held earlier this year.

“It was quite disappointing, to be honest,” the 82-year-old actor reveals in the upcoming CNN Films documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which premieres on Thursday, January 1, according to People. “This is probably the first time I’m discussing it. I thought I would be on stage with the other performers. When I saw Garrett [Morris] and Laraine [Newman] up there, I wondered why I wasn’t included. No one reached out to me. Why was I left out?”

Chase’s absence was noticeable during the special event, which marked the 50th anniversary of the NBC show with a nostalgic look back at classic sketches and a tribute to its cast, both past and present. An original cast member and the mind behind the iconic “Weekend Update,” Chase found himself watching from the audience instead.

In the documentary, Chase questions why “Bill Murray was involved” while he was not, admitting that he “doesn’t have an answer” to this. He recalls mentioning the issue to SNL creator Lorne Michaels via text, although he admits he didn’t fully convey his emotions. (Murray, now 75, succeeded Chase after his exit in season 2 and eventually became the co-anchor of “Weekend Update” during seasons 4 and 5.)

Reflecting on his departure from Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase admits to having some regrets. “Leaving SNL was a mistake,” he confesses in the trailer for the forthcoming CNN Films documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, set to air on Thursday, November 20. Chase originally left the show in late 1976, midway through the sketch comedy program’s run.

“I did bring it up once in a text to Lorne and then took it back,” Chase explains in the doc. “I said, ‘OK, I take it back, silly.’ But it’s not that silly. Somebody’s made a bad mistake there. I don’t know who it was, but somebody made a mistake. They should’ve had me on that stage. It hurt.”

According to Chase’s wife, Jayni, the comedian was initially supposed to be featured in the SNL50 special more heavily. She claims that he was told “up until that day that there were two bits, they were going back and forth.” However, the plans were changed last minute, with Jayni telling the cameras, “All of the sudden, ‘No, there’s no bit.”

Michaels, for his part, addresses the situation directly in the doc, admitting that there were “a couple versions of ‘Weekend Update’” that he went “back and forth” on. Michaels adds that “there was also a caution from somebody that I don’t want to name that Chevy, you know, wasn’t as focused.”

Chase starred on SNL from 1975 through the second season. He exited mid-season that same year in 1976, making him the second original cast member to leave after George Coe’s season 1 exit. In the doc, Chase admits it was a “mistake” to exit the show so early.

Earlier this year, the actor revealed during a February episode that his personal life is what propelled him to walk away. “I left because I was stricken with a girl from L.A. that I met, and in fact married, but for only a couple of years,” he told host Willie Geist, referring to his second wife, Jacqueline Carlin. (Chase and Carlin, who died at age 78 in 2021, were engaged during his time on SNL. They tied the knot in 1976 and divorced in 1980. Chevy was married to his first wife, Suzanne Chase, from 1973 to 1976. He wed Jayni, 68, in 1982.)

“It was strange because I missed it right away. And I still miss it,” he continued. “I loved that show, I loved being with Lorne and the cast — quite a funny cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, Gilda [Radner], Laraine [Newman] and Jane [Curtain]. You know that was a great group of people. So I missed them too.”

Despite being nostalgic for his time on SNL, Chevy faced his fair share of controversies with the long-running series. He made headlines in 1978 for infamously fighting with Murray in Belushi’s dressing room when the Ghostbusters star allegedly made a comment about Chevy’s marital problems. The remark led Chevy to criticize Murray’s appearance, and the two came to blows. (The pair later made amends and even starred in 1980’s Caddyshack together.)

In 2018, Chevy slammed the then-current cast members when sharing his opinion that the show’s comedy had gone downhill.

“I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn’t f***ing believe it,” he told The Washington Post at the time. “That means a whole generation of s***heads laughs at the worst f***ing humor in the world. You know what I mean? How could you dare give that generation worse s*** than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts.”

Chevy Chase had some choice words about the Saturday Night Live origin movie, Saturday Night. Director Jason Reitman shared Chase’s reaction to the film on a recent episode of Dana Carvey and David Spade’s “Fly on the Wall” podcast. Setting the scene for the story, Carvey, 69, quipped: “Chevy loves to say the thing you’re […]

Regardless of the ups and downs, Chevy returned to host SNL eight times between 1978 and 1997. The show also launched a successful film career for the actor, leading to starring roles in classic comedies like Fletch, Caddyshack, The Three Amigos and the National Lampoon’s Vacation films. He also won two Emmy Awards for his writing and performance on the show.

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