Seth MacFarlane Thought Sarah Palin's Scathing Family Guy Complaint Was Fair
Certain shows kind of get away with making fun of everyone. "Family Guy" certainly falls in that category, and the sitcom has rubbed people the wrong way over the years, notably with former Alaska governor and one-time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In the Season 8 episode, "Extra Large Medium," Chris asks out Ellen, a girl with Down Syndrome. After asking her what her parents do, she says that her father's an accountant and her mother's the former governor of Alaska. This is a jab at Palin and how she has a son, Trig, who also has Down Syndrome.
"Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane appeared on "Larry King Live" in 2010, shortly after the episode aired, to talk about the character's inclusion. King took a moment to show MacFarlane a clip of Palin on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show, where she discusses the episode. Palin stated, "I look at Trig, and he's gonna face things as special needs children will be facing much more difficult than we ever will. So why make it tougher on the special needs community?" And MacFarlane could actually see where Palin was coming from.
Seth MacFarlane could see Sarah Palin coming from a motherly perspective
Seth MacFarlane has a reputation for making fun of conservative politicians and ideologies, so it should come as no surprise to see Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly coming after him, even going so far as to call him a "hater." Even Larry King seems to be aware of the hypocrisy of those two coming after MacFarlane, saying it's like the pot calling the kettle black. While MacFarlane disagrees with being referred to as a hater, he at least somewhat understood where Palin was coming from. He said, "As much as I disagree with just about everything that she stands for, I do think at the end of the day, probably, some degree, I think it was part partially politically motivated and part genuine. I mean, she is a mom, she probably was ticked off on some level."
Then again, there are others who think Palin needed to lighten up. This included Andrea Fay Friedman, an actress with Down Syndrome who voiced the character on "Family Guy." After Palin called out MacFarlane, Friedman sent a message to The New York Times saying, "I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line 'I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska' was very funny. I think the word is 'sarcasm.' In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life."
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but seeing how "Family Guy" has continued making fun of everyone and everything over the years, MacFarlane isn't pulling any punches anytime soon.