Warning: This article discusses difficult topics, including domestic, sexual, and child abuse.
AlthoughFamily Guyis a hugely popular TV show, some moments made viewers quit the show. Severaladult cartoons likeFamily Guyare guilty of pushing the boundaries of their audiences, but Seth McFarlane’s iconic show famously uses dark humor to shock purposely.TheFamily Guymovieis also on its way, and the upcoming film is likely to follow a similar pattern to the show.
It’s worth noting thatFamily Guy’s very structure relies on disturbing and inappropriate storylines, but there are some moments in the show that don’t land in the same way.Family Guyis known for its particular brand of comedy, but certain topics don’t translate well in the show or are executed in a tone-deaf and painful way that frustrates viewers. Even thebestFamily Guyepisodesblur the lines of what is funny and what isn’t. However, someFamily Guymoments stand out more than others.
10Family Guy Shames Male Assault Victims
Season 8, Episode 14 - Peter-Assment
The plot of the season 8 episode “Peter-assment” revolves around Peter being sexually harassed by his boss, Angela. Although the episode is set up for an intelligent conversation about victim blaming,Family Guy’sjoke ages poorly. After Anglea takes a liking to Peter, she threatens to fire him unless he has sex with her. However,rather than Peter seeking the support he deserves, he tries to trick her into thinking they have slept together but puts Quagmire in his place,which fails.
Unfortunately,the trivial approach the show takes to discuss such a subject is insensitive and trivializes it.The focus is redirected to Peter’s plot to beat Angela, which causes a further distraction when he finds her attempting suicide instead. While Angela’s mental health struggles are also an important issue to address,Family Guyinstead uses it as a way to avoid acknowledging the true problem.
9Brian Eats Stewie’s Diaper
Season 8, Episode 17 - Brian & Stewie
“Brian & Stewie” diverts fromFamily Guy’s typical format by locking Brian and Stewie inside a bank vault, limiting the episode to a singular setting. However, their restrictions come with difficulties, too, when Stewie fills his diaper. In one ofFamily Guy’s darkest episodes,Brian forces himself to eat the contents of Stewie’s diaper so he’ll be clean.AlthoughFamily Guyisn’t afraid to use grotesque humor, the show takes things too far with this moment.
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This scene also raises a few questions. For example, Brian has access to his safety deposit box, so why doesn’t he empty the diaper into it? Brian has a gun, so couldn’t he use it to set off an alarm to let them out? Sadly,it feels likeFamily Guyuses this episode to demonstrate just how edgy and disturbing it can be,but it fails to think through the logistics of the setting.
8Family Guy Season 10’s Brenda Q Episode
Season 10, Episode 3 - Screams Of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q
Quagmire’s sister, Brenda, returns toFamily Guyin the episode “Screams Of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q,” which expands on the previous mentions of her heartbreaking and abusive relationship. In past instances,the show generally plays these kinds of situations for laughs, but in this episode,Family Guy’s portrayal of domestic abuse is far from comical.Brenda’s boyfriend, Jeff, beats her at any given moment, which finally catches Quagmire’s attention.
What’s disappointing at this moment is that the storyline shifts so thatBrenda is blamed for staying with Jeff rather than criticizing him for his violence.Small, realistic details about domestic abuse situations are referenced, such as Quagmire’s fear that Jeff will kill Brenda, butFamily Guyteeters between the boundaries of being profound and trying to be funny, which translates badly to the screen. The topic isn’t one to laugh at anyway, butFamily Guy’s half-hearted attempt at taking it seriously is equally as bad.
7Family Guy Replaces Brian With Vinny
Season 12, Episode 6 - Life Of Brian
Brian is killed off inFamily Guyseason 12in some truly heartwrenching scenes, but his untimely death is treated as trivial when the Griffins get their new dog, Vinny. Immediately after Brian’s demise,Vinny is introduced, which is jarring and uncomfortable because of how quickly he’s replaced.Vinny isn’t a bad character, but it’s impossible to invest in him because he’s in Brian’s place before his body is even cold.
AlthoughFamily Guy’s Vinny is only a temporary replacement,the brief time he is in the show is hugely disrespectful to Brian’s memory.Vinny takes over Brian’s place in theFamily Guyopening sequence, and Peter takes his new pet to the Clam to hang out with his friends. Within minutes, Brian’s legacy is almost forgotten. Thankfully,Stewie travels back in time to save Brianwithin a couple of episodes of losing him, but it is still a needlessly traumatic moment fromFamily Guy.
6Peter Saves A Whale
Season 12, Episode 9 - Peter Problems
Although the season 12 episode “Peter Problems” isn’t terrible, one moment leaves a sour taste.After Peter’s promotion to forklift operator, he gets overly keen to use his new piece of work equipment,which leads him to find a beached whale on the shore. In typical Peter Griffin style, he uses the forklift to return the whale to the water but stabs straight through its body in the process. Rather than acknowledging his mistake, Peter ignores the whale’s bloody guts dropping from its stomach as he forcibly tries to release the animal.
To no surprise,Peter is either too ignorant or doesn’t care enough to react to the horrified gasps of the crowd behind him.This scene goes on for too long, and the longer Peter spends brutally maiming the whale, the harder it is to watch. However, the one moment that makes this scene so hated is Peter’s awful pun to the onlookers after the whale’s corpse falls into the water, “You’re whale-come.”
5Peter Gives Suzie A Raspberry
Another brief moment inFamily Guythat is creepy, inappropriate, and receives significant backlash is in the episode “Brian’s A Bad Father.” Peter and Quagmire are with Joe in his living room when baby Susie runs in, excited to see the visitors. Peter decides to give Suzie a playful raspberry on her stomach, but his execution is extremely concerning.Thankfully,Family Guyadjusts the image on the screen to just show Joe and Quagmire’s reactions,whose eyes widen as the latter tells Peter, “That’s not where you do a raspberry.”
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AlthoughFamily Guyis no stranger to jokes about child abuse, especially with characters like Herbert, this moment is simply too obvious to be interpreted as funny. Despite the action not appearing on-screen,it’s immediately clear what Peter does, but his lack of response makes it even worse.Stupidly, Peter’s only explanation is that he closes his eyes too quickly, but it doesn’t justify the gag.Family Guy’s use of dark humor is a staple of the show, but this moment crosses a line.
4Stewie Impregnates Himself With Brian’s Kids
Season 13, Episode 12 - Stewie Is Enceinte
Stewie’s sci-fi adventures and technological advances often result in some hilarious storylines inFamily Guy,but in the episode “Stewie is Enceinte,” his latest wacky scheme is ridiculously absurd.Stewie fears that his friendship with Brian is on the rocks,and so, in an attempt to bring them closer together, he impregnates himself with Brian’s DNA. Although this is supposed to be a joke about the stereotype of having a baby to repair a failing relationship, it’s wild thatFamily Guythinks that the twist of a toddler and a dog instead makes it funnier.
When the litter is born, none of the human-puppy hybrids are fully formed or mentally developed, which is just saddening.The bizarre and disturbing plot of this episode is unethical, immoral, and purely wrong on so many levels,especially as nobody else in the household seems to notice anything. However, the show manages to make the entire situation even more horrific with its ending, which sees some of the babies die and the rest abandoned at a shelter.
3Stewie Visits A Therapist
Season 16, Episode 12 - Send in Stewie, Please
“Send in Stewie, Please” has a fascinating premise, but as the episode slowly progresses, Stewie’s behavior becomes increasingly terrifying. He meets his school’s child psychologist, Dr. Cecil Pritchfield, one of the fewcharacters inFamily Guywho can understand Stewie.This provides an interesting opportunity for the crazed genius to discuss his issues with someone who can truly comprehend his thought process,which he takes. The pair discuss Stewie’s odd accent and sexuality, but it’s the episode’s ending that is so messed up.
Pritchfield starts having heart trouble, but Stewie doesn’t help and instead sits back and watches the therapist die. Stewie does this because Pritchfield sees through his facade, but even still, this moment is overly dark for no reason.It’s a bold move from Stewie and mirrors his personality in earlier seasons,but he doesn’t brag about it and keeps the knowledge to himself, which is odd. Plus, even though Stewie is clearly wise beyond his years, it’s shocking that this moment doesn’t traumatize him more.
2Meg Takes Stewie To See Santa
Season 18, Episode 9 - Christmas Is Coming
Stewie’s trip to see Santa in theFamily GuyChristmas episode“Christmas is Coming” is tarnished by his older sister, Meg. Stewie struggles with being around the jolly man because he finds him scary, so Meg tries to reassure him by sitting on Santa’s lap with him.Meg, however, gets more enjoyment out of being bounced on Santa’s knee than Stewie doesand experiences her first orgasm. It’s perfectly fine for Meg to discover her body and sexuality, but her choice of location in which to do it is worrying.
Whileit’s wildly inappropriate for Meg to have an orgasm with her infant brother in her arms and dozens of other children surrounding them, she outdoes herself by taking Stewie to do it all over again. Stewie spends the episode with bloodshot eyes and shaking over the memory, which is a relatively tame reaction considering the context. Although she receives a lot of unnecessary criticism, this moment partially illustrateswhy everyone hates Meg inFamily Guy.
1Peter Performs Oral Sex On Lois' Mother
Season 21, Episode 4 - The Munchurian Candidate
The season 21 episode “The Munchurian Candidate” delves into the topic of sex, and although it’s a common subject inFamily Guy, this story shockingly pushes boundaries.Lois has a hypnotist manipulate Peter into performing oral sex on command with the use of a certain phrase,but she believes it’s failed until she realizes the theme song of the news showExtrais a trigger. After an unfortunate coincidence while visiting Lois’ unwell mother, Babs, Peter ends up being intimate with his mother-in-law.
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There are several issues with this story. Firstly,it’s perplexing that Lois thinks that hypnotizing her husband is a good idea,and it’s easily one of theworst things that aFamily Guymain character ever does. Both Peter and Babs don’t consent, but it’s over before either realizes it. Even though Babs enjoys it, it’s not the point. The strange series of events is difficult to laugh at because of the weird outcome, which is confusing, uncomfortable, and just too much, even for an episode ofFamily Guy.
Family Guy
Cast
Family Guy is an animated series following the eccentric Griffin family. Led by bumbling patriarch Peter and long-suffering Lois, the family includes the sadistic baby Stewie, unpopular teenager Meg, dim-witted Chris, and Brian, their talking dog. The show explores their outlandish adventures in the fictional town of Quahog.
