It's been easy enough in the past to argue that casting Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne--an out-of-touch, bigoted old coot--on NBC's Community strikes a little close to reality. Chase's ongoing feud with show creator Dan Harmon and his vaguely misogynistic commentary on contemporary comedy have stood out as sore thumbs on the actor's reputation, but it seems the former SNL star has now topped his worst moments to date. Multiple sources have confirmed that Chase dropped the N-word on the set of Community in the presence of both Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover, his two African-American costars. Allegedly, Chase was struggling with some especially bigoted dialogue when the epithet--which was not aimed directly at either of his black coworkers, but was still the N-word--slipped out.
Pro-tip: if you're having trouble portraying a bigoted old white dude on TV, revealing yourself to be an even bigger bigoted old white dude is not a good strategy. This may be one slip-up that Chase won't be able to bounce back from. [TVLine]