Family Guy Is Phasing Out Gay Jokes
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The hilarious comedy Family Guy has been around for 20 years (feel old?) and it hasn't shied away from making controversial jokes.
But it appears that after two decades on our tellies, one set of jokes the show won't be making in the future will be about the LGBT community.
Executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel felt that as the times change, so too does the comedy.
Speaking to TV Line, Sulkin said: "If you look at a show from 2005 or 2006 and put it side by side with a show from 2018 or 2019, they're going to have a few differences.
"Some of the things we felt comfortable saying and joking about back then, we now understand is not acceptable."
Appel added: "If a show has literally been on the air for 20 years, the culture changes. And it's not us reacting and thinking, 'They won't let us [say certain things].' No, we've changed too.
"The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different. They've been shaped by the reality around us, so I think the show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways."
There have been plenty of gay jokes and gay allusions made about the Griffin's youngest character, Stewie.
This new direction no surprise considering the backlash that Kevin Hart received after old, homophobic tweets surfaced just after he was confirmed as the host of the 2019 Oscars.
The Jumanji actor was asked to apologise for the tweets in order to continue his job as host but he initially refused, saying he'd addressed those posts in the past.
He eventually offered an apology on Twitter and on American radio station SiriusXM during his show, where he said: "We thought it was okay to talk like that [in the past], because that's how we talked to one another.
"In that, you go fuck. This is wrong now.
"Because now we're in a space where I'm around people of the LGBTQ community, and I'm now aware of how these words make them feel, and why they say 'That shit hurt because of what I've been through.'"
There's been an ongoing trend of people looking back at hit shows and questioning whether they'd stack up in today's world. Some were criticising Friends, which we all know and love, for being transphobic, fat shaming and misogynistic.
Who knows whether other shows will follow Family Guy's suit and chill out on the jokes that some consider too risqué.
Featured Image Credit: Family Guy/Fox
Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, LGBT, Gay, Family Guy
