The gags and jokes on Seth MacFarlane‘s animated comedy Family Guy are often pointed, but a particular gag from the show’s fourth season has resurfaced and, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against actor Kevin Spacy, it seems especially sharp.
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The scene features baby Stewie running naked through a shopping mall crying while crying out “Help! I’ve escaped from Kevin Spacey‘s basement!” You can watch the clip above.
The clip, which first aired twelve years ago in 2005, resurfaced on Tuesday and comes following Spacey’s apology earlier this week to Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp has alleged that, in 1986, Spacey made sexual advances towards him when he was only 14-years-old. Rapp recounted the incident to BuzzFeed this past weekend.
“My memory was that I thought, ‘Oh, everybody’s gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home,’” Rapp said, indicating that had been watching television in Spacey’s apartment during a party. Rapp claims Spacey “sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk.”
“He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold,” Rapp recalled. “But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”
Rapp’s allegations come amidst several sexual assault and harassment allegations in Hollywood and while Spacey took to Twitter Sunday evening to respond to the claims, he also used the statement as an opportunity to come out — a move that has drawn criticism from others in the industry, including Star Trek movie actors George Takei and Zachary Quinto.
“When power is used in a non-consensual situation, it is a wrong,” Takei said in a statement. “For Anthony Rapp, he has had to live with the memory of this experience of decades ago. For Kevin Spacey, who claims not to remember the incident, he was the older, dominant one who had his way. Men who improperly harass or assault do not do so because they are gay or straight — that is a deflection. They do so because they have the power, and they chose to abuse it.”
The Family Guy gag is not the only time MacFarlane has made veiled jokes about sexual abuse in Hollywood. At the Oscars earlier this year, MacFarlane joked about Harvey Weinstein, who recently came under fire after many women have come forward accusing him of abuse. After reading the nominees for Best Supporting Actress, MacFarlane joked that the five women “no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.”
[ H/T Deadline ]
