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In the animated world of television entertainment, one series takes the cake due to consistently airing the most controversial and contentious episodes imaginable. The series, namelyFamily Guy, has featured some of the most crude and offensive humor as its weapon of choice in its narrative plotline. However, the same trait makes the show a painful experience to sit through.
Family Guyhas crossed the line numerous times when it comes to maintaining a semblance of normalcy and a PG-13 dynamic. The storylines are more often than not derailed by the sudden turn into divisive notions about religion, sexual orientation, race, etc. However, the voice actors working behind the scenes have always come through, respecting the writer’s creative choices.
Only rarely has a line of dialogue been so offensive that the actors were forced to rebel behind the scenes.
Family Guyactor rebels against a line of dialogue
Despite the series running for a long time now,Family Guyhas never managed to spite its own actors into backing out of their assigned roles. But, the contentious and offensive humor that colors every episode of the show has preyed on the senses of the voice cast when thejokes got a little too crudeto be considered acceptable.
One actor in particular,Patrick Warburtonwho played the role of Joe Swanson in the series, refused to say his line after finding it too tasteless for him as well as his character. His sensibilities were not merely offended but Warburton was also shocked and appalled by the scriptwriter’s apathy toward the storyline of the episode in question.
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As a result, Warburton found it in himself to challenge the show’s writer, who used religion as a crucial element of the scripted episode. Its central premise was as divisive as it could get, not only hurting the sentiments of the masses but also controversial enough to get the actor as well as the show canceled.
Family Guyactor horrified by one episode in the show
WhenFamily Guypremiered in 1999, one could hardly imagine the divisive show would remain at the center of our pop culture conversation a quarter of a century down the line. However, the dysfunctional family and their absurdities have managed to capture the fascination and attention of the masses for long enough to warrant a greenlight from its producers for 25 years running.
However, Patrick Warburton was disillusioned by one episode of this long-running series when one episode featured a storyline that involved Christ on a cross. In an interview withDigital Spy, Warburton claimed that not only did the storyline have “no humor in it” but it was “so, so horribly offensive.”
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Speaking to the outlet in February 2019, Warburton revealed:
This has only happened once in 20 years of being on the show – the episode was so offensive I can’t repeat it now. It wasn’t a Joe line but I said, ‘Guys, I can’t participate in this episode if that line is in it. It’s a personal thing.’ […] We have great communication all the time. They are all great and listen to you. They know I’m a team player. They know how offensive that was.
Even excluding the storyline featured in the redacted dialogue,Family Guyhas surprisingly stood the test of timedespite blatantly going against every progressive notion of its time. The darkly satiric comedy has been able to use elements from our everyday lives and broader socio-culturally important topics and turn them on their heads to make the viewer uncomfortable and incite a reaction out of the audience, eventually sparking a conversation.
Family Guyis streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2408
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
