Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has no regrets whatsoever, apparently.
Back in 2010, the long-running adult animated series first introduced a trans character named Ida Davis in the 18th episode of season 8, entitled "Quagmire's Dad." During the episode, Quagmire finds out that his parent, a U.S. Navy veteran, is a trans woman. Overall, many LGBTQ+ fans criticized the depiction of Ida on Family Guy when she was brought into the show.
Now, fast forward to present day, in a recent interview, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane told The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn't have any regrets looking back at how they depicted Ida on the show.
MacFarlane explained:
"Look, there are always things that you would do differently when you look back at earlier points in your career. For me, it's more about nuance. There isn't a big change I would make. It's more about individual moments and individual jokes."
MacFarlane went on to explain that the "Quagmire's Dad" episode was written by Steve Callaghan, "who had the same experience with his own parent - his father had transitioned to a woman - and he was writing, in many ways, from his own experience." Alas, MacFarlane did acknowledge that "the language of Family Guy makes that story a little bit different."
Earlier this week, Friends creator Marta Kauffman acknowledged the "mistakes" they made when depicting Chandler's mom, a trans woman, on the show - making her constantly the butt of the joke and misusing pronouns at every turn.
It is disappointing that MacFarlane doesn't share a few similar regrets when it comes to how a trans character was featured on Family Guy. Instead, it seems like he's standing his ground when it comes to the "sense of humor" that they were aiming for.
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