EXCLUSIVE: Family Guy star Patrick Warburton, who voices popular character Joe Swanson, has revealed the one sketch he had to tell the show’s producers he wanted to be no part of
For years, Family Guy has tested the boundaries on TV sets across the globe. Fans of the controversial comedy continuously wonder how many scenes make it to our screens, with Seth MacFarlane’s creation known to ruffle the feathers with its close to the knuckle content.
For the most part, the cast are on board with the dark ideas. However, the man behind the voice of Joe Swanson has admitted there was one idea he simply couldn’t be a part of.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, actor Patrick Warburton revealed he had to tell the show’s producers they had gone too far. The 60-year-old star, who has also featured in shows such as Seinfeld and Rules of Engagement, admitted he had to put his foot down and refuse to be a part of one episode.
He told us: “Listen, they [the creators] know that I’m a team player and I will do everything. There was just something, you know, being Catholic, even a bad Catholic at that, I felt [I couldn’t do]. What I was trying to do was save them.”
Patrick went on: “Just this [idea] was so beyond humorous in any way, and just incredibly offensive. I can’t even repeat it. I just asked politely if I could be a non participant of that episode if they were going to do it.
“I remember being told by one of the directors, ‘look, this is never going to get past the censors anyways’. And I go, ‘I know, but if I agree to do it, then it does, then, you know?”
Despite his views on the specific sketch, he revealed it’s the only time in the show’s 25 year history that he has had to push back on an idea from the show’s creators.
“Look, I’ve done so many things that have Catholic stuff in them, and they’re hammering the Catholics,” he continued. “I do not have a problem with that. It was just, it was a specific sketch having to do with Christ and the cross and, just to me, you know, I just politely said please take me out of this episode.”
He admitted his upbringing had had an impact on his refusal. “My father was in the monastery for three months before he went into medicine and realised that was his calling,” he said.
“My parents are deeply, deeply Catholic, and I grew up in a deeply Catholic household.”
He previously admitted his mother and gone as far as trying to get the animation axed.
However, despite his sole refusal, he insisted the show’s controversial comedy still has a place on screens and he isn’t concerned about any potential cancel culture. “I feel like shows like South Park push it as far as anybody,” he admitted.
“I just feel like there’s a need in society for that kind of levity, for satire, and that as long as there is, a show like Family Guy, which doesn’t seem to back down, fills a void.”
Away from Family Guy, Patrick is set to feature on a new series called Duster. He also recently raised almost $6.5million (£5million), for charity thanks to his annual celebrity golf tournament.
The four-day event earlier this month was a star-studded occasion, with the likes of Alice Cooper and Charles Esten performing. To date, Patrick’s events have raised $39million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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