Seth MacFarlane Makes 'Gay' Jab at Kevin Spacey on 'Family Guy' (Again)
You knew a show like Family Guy—run by noted Harvey Weinstein antagonizer Seth McFarlane—was going to hit the Kevin Spacey situation head on. And hit it Family Guy did.
On Sunday's episode, "Crimes and Meg's Demeanor" (Season 16, Episode 8), Peter, Lois and Meg catch the end of The Usual Suspects on TV. Anyone who's seen the 1995 mystery knows the big twist: Kevin Spacey's character was lying the whole time. But instead of reacting to that, Peter says, "Wait, he was gay the whole time?"
The line was a reference to Spacey's long overdue coming out. Last month, Anthony Rapp alleged that the House of Cards actor made a sexual advance when he was 14 years old and Spacey was 26. Hours after Rapp's accusations were published by BuzzFeed, Spacey released a statement saying he would now "live as a gay man," the first time he ever addressed his sexuality publicly after years of speculation.
The Family Guy jab at Spacey is certainly topical, but McFarlane was not surprised by the allegations of predation. Hours after Rapp's accusation against Spacey were made public, someone on the internet dug up a 12-year-old Family Guy clip. In the 2005 episode, Stewie—the show's youngest character—runs naked and screaming, "Help! I've escaped from Kevin Spacey's basement!"
In the wake of the near-daily sexual misconduct allegations against some of Hollywood's biggest names, MacFarlane has gained a reputation for his fearless outing of bullies and sexual terrorists, long before the recent allegations went public. As the 2013 Oscars host, for example, he famously joked that the actresses in the Supporting Actress category "no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein."
And a 2012 Family Guy episode featured accused sexual assaulter Brett Ratner bidding on Stewie at a sex ring auction.
Fans have noticed, quickly identifying the other men singled out by Family Guy, including X-Men director Bryan Singer, who has also been accused of predatory sexual behavior.
McFarlane isn't alone in taking shots at the timing of Spacey's coming out. Activists and celebrities, including Zachary Quinto, Wanda Sykes and Billy Eichner, have criticized the move, accusing Spacey of coming out as a way to shift the narrative away from his allegations—as if being closeted were the real problem.
The narrative failed to shift: After more accusations from the House of Cards set, Netflix severed all ties with its former star. He was also removed from Ridley Scott's new film, All the Money in The World, after the director recast Christopher Plummer in Spacey's role, reshooting all of his scenes just weeks before the film was set to premiere.
Uncommon Knowledge
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