David Spade Defends New Chris Farley Commercial: ‘It’s A Clever Homage’

David Spade is defending his new DirecTV commercial with late friend and co-star Chris Farley after protests from fans over the star’s memory.

“These commercials are cool. They’re well done. They’re clever. And that they would include ‘Tommy Boy’ in that company, I thought was very flattering,” David told People of the company’s latest ad in a series that pulls scenes from classic movies and digitally inserts stars to pitch for DirecTV.

The spot in question, airing during the World Series, features a scene from 1995’s “Tommy Boy” in which Farley, who died of a heart attack in conjunction with a drug overdose in 1997, does his “Fat Guy in a Little Coat” routine.

“Oh, my God if [Chris] was here, I guarantee he’d be stoked that this little movie is included,” David, who also starred in the film “Black Sheep” and on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” with the late comedian, said. “The movie is important to me, and I would hate to offend [anyone] because that’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. So I would apologize to someone who took it that way.”

David added that he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about why he made the commercial.

“I wouldn’t want anyone to get a whiff that I’m trying to get something off Chris,” he noted.

In a statement to ABC News, he said that he thought the 30-second spot would be a way to refresh people’s memories of his friend.

“When DirecTV came to me and the Farley family with this idea about ‘Tommy Boy,’ we talked and thought it would be a cool way to remind people just how funny Chris was,” he said in the statement. “It is a clever homage to my friend and a movie that we loved doing.”