Family Guy's Boston Marathon Episode Yanked

Tasteless mashup appeared on Internet
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2013 9:58 AM CDT
Family Guy 's Boston Marathon Episode Yanked
In this publicity image released by Fox Broadcasting, the characters from Fox's "Family Guy" are shown.   (AP Photo/FOX, File)

A Family Guy episode that aired in March featured some now-unfortunate scenes: In one, Peter Griffin drives drunk over Boston Marathon runners so he can win the race; in another scene unrelated to the race, an extremist planning to blow up a bridge gives him a cellphone, which he calls, and hears the sound of explosions. In the wake of the bombing, someone mashed the clips together to make it look like Griffin used the phone to trigger blasts at the marathon. Fox yesterday pulled the "Turban Cowboy" episode from TV and the Internet, and is working with YouTube to get the offensive mashups removed, Reuters reports.

"The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent," tweeted show creator Seth MacFarlane. "The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims." It's not clear who is behind the mashup, which the Los Angeles Times reports fueled "the latest hoax making the rounds on the Internet": that MacFarlane predicted Monday's bombings. Alex Jones, the talk radio host who thinks the government was behind the attack, publicized the clip, the Times notes. (More Boston Marathon bombing stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X