Did Family Guy Go Too Far With Trig Palin Downs Joke?

In an effort to offend as many people as possible while hiding behind the flimsy John Mayer excuse of “pushing boundaries,” Seth MacFarlane and his team of Family Guy writers came up with a joke in last week’s episode where Chris goes on a date with a girl who obviously has Downs Syndrome. And then they bring Sarah Palin into it, because the whole point of this not-even-that-funny-or-insightful throwaway line was to invoke a reaction from the former mayor of Alaska (which it did…she took to her Facebook again like a real adult) and get more publicity for their show.

Watch the full clip after the jump, as well as a snippet of Bristol Palin’s reaction from her mom’s Facebook note.




Bristol says:

When you’re the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin. My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent. People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you’ll ever meet. Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them? As a culture, shouldn’t we be more compassionate to innocent people - especially those who are less fortunate? Shouldn’t we be willing to say that some things just are not funny? Are there any limits to what some people will do or say in regards to my little brother or others in the special needs community? If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks. - Bristol Palin”

This of course comes right on the heels of Palin calling for Rahm Emanuel to resign after using the word “retarded” in a derogatory manner…something that definitely didn’t escape Seth MacFarlane’s attentions when writing this joke. It’s really terrible when we have to find ourselves siding with Miss Alaska here but that joke wasn’t just offensive (which definitely has its place in good comedy), it was also lazy and looking to cash in on Palin’s outrage. And that’s just retar…that’s just dumb.

BY by Drew Grant