PTC's president Tim Winter says he asked the rape joke to be removed in August but never heard back, while a spokeswoman for RAIN doesn't find the joke offensive.
- September 25, 2014
AceShowbiz -
The "Family Guy" / "The Simpsons" crossover episode has sparked controversy with its rape joke. Tim Winter, president of The Parents Television Council (PTC), claims FOX didn't respond to his request to remove the joke in question.
The episode titled "The Simpsons Guy" that will air September 28 features Bart teaching Stewie the art of prank calling. Bart gives an example by calling Moe's Tavern asking for a person with the last name Keybum, first name Lee. People laugh when Moe starts asking for a "leaky bum." Stewie wants to try it too, speaking over the phone, "Hello, Moe? Your sister's being raped." Bart's face shows that he doesn't find it funny.
Winter says he first noticed the rape joke when the trailer came out back in July. "I was blown out of my shoes when I saw the scene with the rape joke in it," he says. "It really troubled me."
Winter says he wrote to the show creator Matt Groening, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane and FOX in August, asking for the joke be removed when the episode airs on television, but he never heard back.
However, Katherine Hull Fliflet, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAIN), doesn't find the joke offensive. "I think the show is making it clear that rape is not funny by how they are positioning the joke," she explains. "It's my hope that would be the viewers' take-away."
MacFarlane did predict that the said scene would spark criticism. "But in context," he defended it in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "it's pretty funny."
A spokeswoman for FOX's entertainment division has refused to comment on the criticism or whether they're considering to remove the joke.
The rape joke can be found after the 0:47 mark in the video below.
