Sarah Palin and her daughter whine about Family Guy episode

JUNEAU, Alaska – Sarah Palin is lashing out at the portrayal of a character with Down syndrome on the Fox animated comedy "Family Guy." In a Facebook posting headlined "Fox Hollywood — What a Disappointment," the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and current Fox News contributor said Sunday night's episode felt like "another kick in the gut." Palin's youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome.
The episode features the character Chris falling for a girl with Down syndrome. On a date, he asks what her parents do.
She replies: "My dad's an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska."
Palin resigned as Alaska governor last summer.
Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, also was quoted on her mother's Facebook page, calling the show's writers "heartless jerks."
"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," she is quoted as saying.
"If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed," Bristol Palin added in the Monday posting. "All they proved is that they're heartless jerks."
Palin wrote that she'd asked her daughter what she thought of the show and Bristol's reply was "a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make about an issue that begs the question: When is enough enough?"
This isn't the first time Palin has spoken out over an attack, real or perceived, on her family. Last year, she condemned a joke David Letterman made about her daughter, for which he later apologized.
A "Family Guy" publicist didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

 

I can understand how it is offensive but... the joke was on the daughter, not on the actual kid with Down's Syndrome.. so the laugh is kind of at them for not getting the joke. >.>

As it is, Palin decided to get herself in the big time news and her daughter hogged up her fair share too. The family is scary as it is with all the religious weirdness etc. If you are going to be a public figure and advertise your life and self-righteousness etc that Palin and her family did, well, you can expect you are going to get poked at. After all the cold statements they've made at others, they can take some ribbing back.

 

Lol yeah.

What really bugs me about it is that they don't say anything about the other "offensive" material on the show, only what relates to them. I mean, I understand where they're coming from, but it seems a tad selfish. You're not the center of the world, Palins.

I'll admit Palin was never in high standing with me, but she's been getting worse. I don't know if the whole "wrote on her hand" thing is legit, but it made me laugh. Hell, even Al Gore is getting fed up with her. She's the political Britney Spears, in my opinion.

 

^This.

Honestly, I don't know what Palin is doing, political or otherwise, anymore, if I ever did. All I see nowadays is her lashing out at anyone who 'would dare cross her or her family'. Gimme a break. I'm against Family Guy, in general, but even I know that was over the top. I'm starting to wonder whether or not her frequent outbursts are medically related, now that I heard said quote.

 

I can't really say much since I'm not American and I don't know much about the woman or her family, but I do think it was a little tasteless for the show to make some kind of mockery out of an illness like that.

Even if it wasn't anything to do with her.

As for her wanting to defend her family, aren't we all guilty of that? I know that if someone was deliberately trying to mock my family I'd give them hell to pay.

Apologies for my ignorance on the matter xD; I can only give a loose opinion.

 

well, i never liked family guy and i already knew that there jokes are mostly atrocious anyway and if they did a joke aobut my cousin who has down syndrome it would also be where i draw the line.

But Sarah did pretty much advertise her family and the whole down syndrome, and that is the downside of fame (political or movie/music) someone is always gonna make fun of you, if someone had to sue or make a big deal out of people making fun of him/her George Bush would be complaining all the time.

 

I agree partially with both sides. Family Guy has gone that bit too far a few times, but I don't see how the joke in this case was offensive. Ok, so it highlighted that Sarah Palin had a child with Down Syndrome, which people knew anyway. Now I haven't seen the episode in question, but that doesn't seem offensive to me. It nots like they were saying 'He has downs syndrome, therefore we should laugh at him'. Its more like a reference than a joke.


Its like if I went up to a black person in the street and said 'You are black.' Then I'm not actually being offensive. I've just made a true statement.



What I'm more interested in is why Sarah Palin was watching Family Guy in the first place.

 

Why shouldn't she? I don't get why that is an issue unless I'm missing something.

 

._. No, I'm not saying she shouldn't or that it's an issue. It just amuses me to think of Sarah Palin watching Family Guy.

 

xD ah ok, yeah it can be weird tho think of well known people doing normal people things.

 

Well honestly, I'd just figured she'd have something better to do.
And if she was watching T.V., honestly, Family Guy?
Why watch it if it's a "particularly pathetic cartoon?"

 

No one ever knew she liked South Park, either. Well, until that one joke...

But anyway, onto the topic at hand. I don't think this was suppose to be a direct assault at her child, but mainly at her. I can't believe Fox would allow that type of insult towards someone, especially Family Guy, which goes through a great deal of scrutiny.
Still, this does seem like attention seeking. I don't believe that this would have been news worthy if Pallin had kept her cool, and didn't make an issue of it. Still, like alot of news, we'll never know for definite.

And no offence to the kid, this is mainly at Sarah Palin.
But naming him Trig? As in trigger, like a gun trigger?
And her daughter Bristol? After Pistol?
I wouldn't want a leader with that kind of obsession to guns.

 

"Bristol" is apparently also a British slang term basically equivalent to "tits".


Also, the VA for the Down Syndrome character responded:

Since it was shown on Sunday, an episode of the Fox animated comedy “Family Guy†has drawn the repeated condemnation of Sarah Palin, the former Republican governor of Alaska and 2008 vice-presidential nominee.

In the episode, the teenage character Chris dates a girl named Ellen, who has Down syndrome, and who tells him over dinner that her mother is “the former governor of Alaska.†Ms. Palin, whose son Trig also has Down syndrome, has said that the “Family Guy†show “really isn’t funny†and was the work of “cruel, cold-hearted people.†Ms. Palin’s daughter Bristol has written that the “Family Guy†writers were “mocking my brother and my family,†and called them “heartless jerks.â€

One person who supports the “Family Guy†staff is Andrea Fay Friedman, the 39-year-old actor and public speaker who played Ellen in that episode. Like the character, Ms. Friedman also has Down syndrome.

In an e-mail message sent on Thursday to The New York Times, Ms. Friedman wrote:

I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska†was very funny. I think the word is “sarcasm.â€

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.
Ms. Friedman also spoke by phone with ArtsBeat about her “Family Guy†episode and the controversy that followed. These are excerpts from that conversation.

Q.
How did you start out as an actor?

A.
Before I did “Family Guy,†I started studying at the Santa Monica Playhouse when I was 14, and then I also studied at the Stagecoach. And then I did more acting at Santa Monica College. My biggest break was “Life Goes On,†when I was 21.

Q.
How were you hired to do this episode of “Family Guy�

A.
“Family Guy†talked to my dad first, before I knew about “Family Guy,†because I never watched it. But since I’m watching it, it’s really funny. They told me I was going to be animated, they were going to draw me, and I did not have to know the lines by memory. I just had to read it. It was really funny. I enjoyed it. I had a nice time doing it. Q.
Did they specifically tell you that the character you were going to play also had Down syndrome?

A.
Yeah, they told me I was playing Ellen, who was Miss Bossy. I didn’t want to be bossy, but since they want me to be bossy, I just had to be as the character. I had to be bossy, as part of my process. That’s the only way to transform the real me to an animated person. So I had to do what an actor does. I just wing it and have fun with it.

Q.
When you get asked to play characters who have Down syndrome, does that make you at all uncomfortable?

A.
No, I’m proud of it. I’m not embarrassed. But mostly, it doesn’t matter if you have Down syndrome. Really, it just matters to have a different challenge.

Q.
When did you find out about the reaction that the episode elicited from Sarah Palin and her family?

A.
[laughs] That I did not even know about until my mom told me, “You’re on Channel 4!†And when I watched on Channel 4, on “Extra,†and I saw Sarah Palin with her son Trig. I’m like, “I’m not Trig. This is my life.†I was making fun of Sarah Palin, but not her son.

Q.
Do you agree with what she and her daughter Bristol were saying, that the character and the jokes were insulting to people with Down syndrome?

A.
It’s not really an insult. I was doing my role, I’m an actor. I’m entitled to say something. It was really funny. I was laughing at it. I had a nice time doing voiceover. It was my first time doing a voiceover, and I had fun.

Q.
Do you know what other acting roles you’ve got coming up?

A.
That I don’t know. [laughs] No one asked me yet. I’m still waiting. My dad gets the calls, and he tells me about it. I’d like to go back on “Saving Grace,†that’s my favorite show.

Q.
What do you do when you’re not acting?

A.
I work at a law firm, I’ve been here for 20 years. I’ve spoken all over the world, India and Japan. Dad taught me some Japanese. I like spending time with family and friends, go bowling and skiing, going to birthday parties.

Q.
You’ve got a big birthday coming up yourself. How are you bracing yourself for the big 4-0?

A.
Eh, it’s a big step. It’s a milestone. Might as well just leap for it.

 

Wow, Family Guy mocking someone. THAT'S not happened before has it?

This is the clear example of people taking things at face value. Personally, I can't quite see how she managed to take offense to this, but hey, that's just me. If she was intent on running for Vice-presidency, you would of thought that stuff like this wouldn't bother her. After all, like I said, Family Guy has been doing this kind of stuff for years now. Hell, some of the stuff they have done on religion is worse than this.

I agree that Palin is turning into a political Britney. Hell, I've heard of her "exploits" over here in Britain, and I'm just as sick of her. If she didn't expect to be poked fun at occasionally, then she should have done a better job as a politician, plain and simple.

 

i saw that episode. if i remember correctly, they didn't actually "mock" down syndrome, the character just happened to have it. though, the reference to "my mom is a former governor of alaska" makes it seem like they are targeting the kid with down syndrome. so i'm not really sure, but there was no actual insults.

 

Eh, she kind of took it as a personal attack when it was more of a reference.

No one is "Safe" from being made fun of, especially when it comes to Family Guy.

I personally don't think it's a big deal, but I don't have any family members with Down's, so I won't act like I know what it feels like for the Palin family. It mayh be really tough for them, I don't know.

 

This ^

Family Guy is a comedy that makes fun of almost everything, old cartoons, high school stereotypes, animals, woman, men, actors and celebrities. This may sound a little cold, but don't really care for her because there is a Family Guy episode where they do actually tease wheelchair bound people and in this episode they were making fun of her, not the down syndrome. What makes down syndrome much more of a issue compared to people who can never walk again ? really, believe that mocking the wheelchair bound is more insensitive and more of a issue to raise about, rather than Palin's emotions. But don't care, because understand the point of Family Guy it makes fun and provokes tease to everything don't like Family Guy that much, it fact hate it but she should choose to ignore and change the channel when it comes on television, don't like what's happening, change the channel.