“Seth MacFarlane Reveals the ‘Family Guy’ Joke That Crossed the Line—and It Might Shock You!”
In the ever-evolving realm of animated television, few shows have navigated the whims of pop culture like *Family Guy*. With Seth MacFarlane’s irreverent humor at the helm, the series has not only survived but thrived through 23 seasons, transforming Peter Griffin into a cultural icon—so much so that he’s even rocked his way into *Fortnite*! Yet, amidst the laughs and social commentary, MacFarlane recently reflected on a particular joke he’d likely steer clear of today. This revelation opens the door to a thought-provoking question: Can a comedic voice evolve while still being true to its roots? Join us as we explore MacFarlane’s retrospective on one of the show’s early gags—a dark twist involving JFK—and how such moments shape the legacy of humor over time. LEARN MORE.
Seth MacFarlane once said there was one Family Guy joke which he probably wouldn’t do now.
The animated comedy is still going strong after 23 seasons to the point that Peter Griffin has pretty much chiselled his way into being a permanent pop culture fixture.
Hell, he’s even in f**king Fortnite these days, that’s how far Family Guy has come from those early days when it was fighting against being cancelled after both the second and third seasons.
Fan support brought the show back and the rest is history, but MacFarlane said that there’s one joke from the first season he’d be willing to ditch.
In 2012, he appeared on Out of Character with Krista Smith where he talked about one of the show’s earliest gags.
Family Guy celebrated a 25th anniversary this year, and Seth MacFarlane himself just turned 51. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Of course, since then there’s been plenty more Family Guy episodes so there might be other jokes which MacFarlane regrets, however, the soon to be 51-year-old (happy birthday for the 26th October, Seth) has had plenty of seasons to make up for it.
The joke the show’s creator would probably ditch nowadays involves the assassination of US president John F Kennedy.
He said: “There have been jokes that I would have rather we not have done. The JFK Pez dispenser was something I would probably not do now.”
In case you don’t remember it, a kid buys a JFK Pez dispenser only to have the head shot clean off by a police sniper.
It’s one of the earliest jokes in Family Guy. (Fox)
The kid then says ‘good thing I still have my Bobby Kennedy Pez dispenser’ and pulls out another one.
The joke is that both JFK and his brother Robert were shot in the head.
MacFarlane may regret telling that joke but there’s plenty of other bangers which he’s built his career on, getting a whole bunch of shows and even some movies too.
If nothing else, Family Guy is always a reliable thing to stick on late at night when you can’t sleep, just pop ITV2 on and watch away.
One of his latest projects is the Ted series based on the movies where MacFarlane voices a teddy bear and viewers thought it was the absolute bees knees.
It’s set in the 90s when Ted and John (Max Burkholder) are in school and viewers dubbed it ‘REALLY good, like early Family Guy good’.
Remember, early Family Guy was good enough that fans saved it from cancellation twice, so the Ted show must be pretty chuffing good.
