In the nearly 30 years that Family Guy’s been on the air, the show has been no stranger to controversy. An early episode featuring a song about AIDS was condemned by a number of AIDS organizations back in 2005, who called it “irresponsible” and “disturbing.” A few episodes have even been banned, including 2010’s “Partial Terms of Endearment,” which still hasn’t been run on Fox to this day. Season 7’s “Family Gay” might take the cake, however, at least when it comes to the sheer amount of complaints the FCC received about it after it first aired.
In the episode, Peter buys a horse with brain damage that goes on a destructive rampage, landing the Griffins in debt. To earn a little money, Peter participates in some medical experiments and ends up getting injected with the gay gene, effectively turning him gay. He then leaves Lois for another man, only to be kidnapped by Stewie and Brian and sent to “straight camp.” Peter eventually gets out with the help of Lois, but midway through a gay orgy, the gene he was injected with wears off, and he reverts back to being straight again.
“Family Gay” prompted the FCC to receive a whopping 188,368 complaints following its initial airing in 2009—many of which were likely in response to the Parents Television Council asking its members to voice their displeasure. The PTC filed its own complaint as well, citing, among other things, “orgies and babies eating sperm” as things they took issue with. A report from the media research firm SNL Kagan similarly referred to a scene “in which a baby uses horse semen in lieu of milk for cereal.”
The scene in question involves Stewie sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal as Peter explains to everyone that some of the milk in the refrigerator is actually horse sperm. For context, it’s being kept in there because Peter is trying his hand at being a horse breeder. Stewie then continues eating his cereal after thinking it over for a second. In fairness, though, it’s never confirmed that he’s in fact “eating sperm,” as the PTC put it so eloquently. Take a look at the clip for yourself below.
When series creator Seth MacFarlane was asked about the PTC’s various complaints about his show the year before “Family Gay” aired, he had the following to say: “That’s like getting hate mail from Hitler. They’re literally terrible human beings. I’ve read their newsletter, I’ve visited their website, and they’re just rotten to the core. For an organization that prides itself on Christian values—I mean, I’m an atheist, so what do I know?—they spend their entire day hating people. They can all suck my d–k as far as I’m concerned.”
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