MacFarlane to Borstein: How many Jews does it take to screw in a light bulb for a Nazi?
As someone who watches Family Guy on a fairly regular basis, I usually resort to rolling my eyes when the show’s creator, Seth MacFarlane, incorporates a Jew joke into what has lately become every episode of the sitcom. MacFarlane, no stranger to controversy and pushing the envelope, is a masterful comedian in many ways, even if his jokes are most often vulgar to the point of no return. As a pop culture lover, my heart can only skip a beat when he pokes fun at society’s cultural trends and riffs poetically on the mundane minutia that the media throws our way every day – every nanosecond of the day.
So you see I’m already conflicted, but no longer after tonight’s episode.
Tonight marked a special event on FOX in which MacFarlane, along with Alex Borstein (voice of Lois) did a variety show act intermittently splicing episodes of Family Guy to fill in the gaps. No doubt the half-hour show was a plug for MacFarlane and Borstein’s show, which showcased at Carnegie Hall last year.
At one point in the show MacFarlane insists on singing a song about Austria. Borstein refuses and says something alongs the lines of, “You always say my people don’t fight. So I’m putting my foot down. I’m not singing.” (I’m paraphrasing mildly but you get the drift) Borstein then goes onto talk about her grandmother and mother who barely escaped Austria from the Nazis to which MacFarlane replies, “You should consider yourself lucky (again, slight paraphrasing). If the Nazis hadn’t happened, imagine how many Jewish female comedians you would have had to compete with. So instead it’s just you and Sarah Silverman.” Borstein responds with a laugh and joins in the jokes. After all, it was made at her expense. And that’s funny, right?
I think I may just have to be done with Family Guy once and for all…
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Sorry… Even if you say that you’re NOT anti-Semitic, you’re still considered anti-Semitic! You can’t win!
Oh Jews think everyone’s anti-Semitic. Even if you say that you’re anti-Semitic, you can’t win! Even self-loathing Jews think everyone’s anti-Semitic. You can’t win. Jews just love saying, anti-Semitic and love anti-Semitism… Period!
Beth,
I’m sureeee you were just as critical of Larry David when he pissed on a picture of Jesus in an episode of Curb, weren’t you? Yeah, though so 😉
I’m so sick of whiny cry babies, the poor Jews,, the horror! The Jew run networks and movie studios have made a fortune at the expense of Christians. You can’t watch a sitcom or movie without some degree of Christian bashing in one form of another, but when it comes to the Jews, they’re off limits? Screw that!
Seth, is that you?
Family guy laughs a lot on Jews, indeed, it laughs at all religions although mainly on Judaism, Christianity and Islam, those 3 religions hold onto primitive values and Jews, Christians and Muslims follow books with primitive values many of them would be considered inhumane today. Are you a Christians? Then you follow a book with primitive inhumane values just like Jews and Muslims, you’re not any more or less a human sack of shit than they are. Congratulations, you have proven your hypocrisy Christians claim to be persecuted just as much as Jews do, just all you winy religious people go back to your religious dump hole, perhaps Afghanistan?
Make fun of me for my nose, being cheap, call me greedy. But the next person that makes fun of my relatives that died in the holocaust I’m going to punch in the face !!!
Make fun of me for my nose, being cheap, call me greedy. But the next person that makes fun of my relatives that died in the holocaust I’m going to pucnh in the face !!!
Umm… half the stars and staff on the show are Jewish. You guys DO know this, right?
Yeah, but it may be embarrassing to constantly bring up in a comedy show, and a successful one at that, that what you’re joking about is offensive, especially when there’s your livelihood involved.
I wouldn’t know since I rarely watch the show, but it’s a thought for ya.
Never writes anything with true malice
I have watched the family guy for years and yes without a shadow of doubt Seth macfarlane is a rabid, cowardly, Jew hater.No other race or ethnic group or religion is ever regularly singled out for vicious ridicule as much as Jews on the family guy.He makes the Jewish character Mort Goldman into a money grubbing ,cowering,thieving,conniving stereotype every chance he gets.You can’t go 5 minutes into a episode without the most inappropriate hateful anti Jewish slur in the guise of a “joke”Seth macfarlane is typical of a new generation of liberal democrat Jew haters cloaking their vile hatred in “jokes”I will never watch the family guy again and I hope some self respecting jew punches seth in the mouth for all the damage he has done.As for all that defend and cover for him with B.S. lies you too can go to hell.I am sick of it being open season on Jews when liberal democrats like seth macfarline want to write a comedy show.
hey. Jew dog I really think make a good point about that is probably Nothing anti Semitic. coming from csomeone like u who isn’t anti Semitic so yeah I really think you make a good point and your point has a sufficient purpose in this argument. Lol
Seth Macfarlane was a pure racist on SNL Sept. 15th, doing Kermit the Frog saying "I love being in New York… except for the Jews!" – what an asshole, hope he's blacklisted by all Jewish directors and producers in the future.
I thought the episode was great especially the jew joke! Ha!
Family Guy is an outrageously funny cartoon! I love the Jewish jokes and puns. They’re almost as funny as the Irish jokes. Come on, the Jewish jokes aren’t any more offensive than what they did with to the Irish. Are you telling me that a historical “robotic” exhibit of an irishman smacking his irish wife in the face, or the wife slaving away while another baby drops from her vagina is less offensive than the Jewish jokes? Or, Peter’s Irish Catholic father always calling Lois a Protestant Whore?
Family Guy crosses the line on humor in so many aspects – Jewish jokes and puns being no more or less offensive than anything else. How about the episode that called Ann Coulter a “Sick twisted Foque”?
I’m a life-long conservative Jewish guy. Family guy has me laughing in stitches over all of its highly offensive and politically incorrect humor. You liberal Jews need to learn to lighten up. Same with you Catholics, Protestants, and Atheists. Seth MacFarlane is an asshole….but, a brilliant asshole who makes me laugh.
MacFarlane not only pokes fun at jews, he satirizes his own heritage often. You say a comment on the show goes too far? The truth is – the whole show goes too far. It’s lewd, perverse, offensive and shatters the envelope of what is appropriate for television. But, if you don’t see it as a reflection of what takes place in reality, i.e. the absurdity inherent within our chosen faiths, or get offended, because it insults you ego or hurts your fragile values, you will not see the wildly creative cooperative efforts taking place between MacFarlane and some of his jewish co-workers. It wasn’t too long ago Mel Brooks, a jew, got lots of laughs with his one liner, “Is the Bismark a herring?” So you see, comedians don’t have boundaries. The whole idea behind comedy is to challenge the status quo and test the waters. Isn’t it? Perhaps those who get disgusted are missing the point.
Oh my gosh…..folks stop whinning and hating. It’s just satire. Half of family guys staff is jewish. In fact, anyone who really pays attention family guy is very pro jewish….so get over yourselves….The haters above are just plain crazy and bitter and i don’t know why. But…STOP that crazy making talk. Let’s just forget about religion and deal with each other as human beings.
Zionists r the problem. Not to worry, Americans r waking up, and u people will either be a part of the second diaspora, or the final solution. Even if there were 6 million killed in the camps (bs, but hypothetically), what of the 30 million christians killed by the mostly Jewish bolsheviks who were funded by my sons, and the millions more killed in Jew started wars. U people are going to get exactly what you deserve. Take Israel (i mean Palestine), and leave the world alone. Take the initiative and show us goyim how you are smarter and more industrious, and build a glowing city on the rock without American help. You won’t because you people are the scum of the earth, and create nothing, only feed off of loving honest people. America will withdraw it’s support, and Israel won’t even be in the history books in a hundred years. WE ALL KNOW ISRAEL DID 9/11, GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY OR WE’LL BURN YOU OUT.
IP address: 98.228.253.167
Pointing out the truth or voicing an opinion is what freedom is all about, what is the point of posting a bogus address just to intimidate someone? If you don’t like reality or someone else posting a p.o.v., then you’re just letting them make you a more bitter person; people will always believe what makes them feel comfortable, some others like exposing the evidence… Variety is the spice of life. Cheers mate!
Fuck You Mayer..you are such a dick wad
Why did the Jews house get destroyed by termites ? They did not call the exterminators .
Your a bunch of racists Jews, like a pack of animals you go gunning for anyone who says anything about your Palestine killing asses. You fucking assholes can give it but can’t take it. Maybe Hitler, & Ford had it right, your a bunch of over rated assholes. I wish our govt. Would lift it’s shield from over your heads and allow the people you terrorize to take you fuck heads out.
they always try, it never works. oh well. let’s eat!
Negro says what now???
Boo hoo hoo! Cry me a fucking river Jews! -_- You don’t like Seth’s jokes then don’t watch his stuff you no common sense having mother fuckers.
The Family Goy episode in which Mr. McFarlane thought it would be hilarious to have Peter dress up like Amon Goeth abd shoot at Jews from his balcony, was not satire, was not funny, and should not be written off as simple comedy. Seth McFarlane is an Anti-Semite, and then has the audacity to call Disney one…If you still want to bury your head in the sand and pretend that it is Ok to make fun of a race or religion…that is up to you…but when Mcfarlane does it to one race/religion in every episode and then spends an entire episode calling us Money Grubbing, Short, Hairy, Cheap, victims…then I get a little tired of it. There are still people alive who survived the butcher named Amon Goeth…I wonder if they found that scene hilarious as well.
Really? People are still complaining about racist and prejudice satire on a comedy show? When will people understand that comedy is comedy and thats where it usually stays (sure some crazies out there will take it to heart but then again there are always some radical in any group or situation).Do you mean to tell me that because someone makes a joke about another’s way of life that it is immediately fueled by hate? Cmon, lighten up, the point of comedy is to take life and exaggerate it to make it humorous, never take it to heart.
You guys grow up! Alot of the Staff members on family guy are Jewish!!!!!
Alex Borstein, David Goodman, Alec Sulkin etc.
They’re jokes and yes they make a lot of them but, i believe a lot of people take things to heart or take it too seriously!
“You guys grow up! Alot of the Staff members on family guy are Jewish!!!!”
His “jewish” staff members are just paid punching bags that have zero self respect.There were also many jews that worked with the nazis,sort of like what goes on on the set of the family guy.Seth macfarlane is a dirty bastard and I have had it with his liberal democrat jew bashing. I am grown up and old enough to know nazi like anti Jewish stereotypes when I see them ok pal.I have given that scum macfarlane every chance and watch for years hoping he would stop for at least one episode his evil jew bashing but nope every episode at lest a few times he drops the most inappropriate anti jewish hate.Seth macfarlanes “jewish”staff members are animals and I have zero respect for them.
Disclaimer: Not Jewish. I think McFarlane is a bigot. It’s easy to use the weak excuse “I make fun of everybody” when you are in the dominant group. It’s like me grabbing a little white guy (I’m a fairly big Latino) and starting a slap fight and saing, “what? You can slap me too. It’s fair”. So, I’m down with wanting to bitch slap McFaggot for taking Jew jokes too far. BUT, not that I’m always around Jewish people, when I have been I have never really heard any sympathy for extremely crude humor against, for example, Jesus. I’m not a big devout Christian, I just find it hypocritical. I submit that the most honorable thing is just to be down on anyone that just pointlessly and irresponsibly slams anybody’s sacred beliefs or their identity as human beings. I’ll stand with anyone in that fight. Criticism is cool, poking fun is cool, but trying to denigrate while hiding behind the “comedy shield” is not cool.
Well said.
No not well said filled with inaccurate info, and she even spelled his name wrong.
First of all it’s not McFarlane it’s macFarlane he is not irish he is Scottish american ,like the founders of the kkk were.I think that most jews do defend Christians and Israel is the only country in the middle east that does not persecute or murder Christians,so get your facts straight ok lady.
Let’s clarify that I said I found the joke and his jokes in general “anti-semitic”- I made no statement that he’s an anti-semite. Anyways, judging by his humor he probably is the latter so I guess you bring up a sound point.
Not sure how any Jew out there can defend MacFarlane’s Jew jokes after a while. But, there is particularly not funny something about Jews dying in the Holocaust.
Well at least someone has some sense.Most jews just bend over and take seth macfarlane’s vile hate with a sick smile and laugh.I hate seth macfarlane and his cowardly anti Semitic platform the family guy.Anyone who is well acquainted with the show and is oblivious to his constant nazi like characterizations of jews is at best mildly mentally retarded.The “jews” that say lighten up would be ready to lynch someone who made a cartoon that was as bigoted against blacks.But being that seth macfarlaine is a liberal democrat it make his Hitler like jew bashing ok ,in most liberal weakling jews minds.Well I don’t think it’s ok and I won’t lighten up or listen to some self hate obama jew telling me it’s cool to completely trash jews every 2 minutes in every episode of the family guy.To all the jews that don’t get it there is a cattle car waiting for you go and die please you are worthless.
Muffti is pretty self-happy and he likes family guy. Making comedy that treads upon sacred cow lines and dares to draw the sacred into the profane always runs the risk of offense and will frequently turn people off who thinks it has gone too far. But ‘going too far’ and ‘being anti-F’ for whatever parameter F someone has gone too far with should not be as easy a slip as suggested above. You may not like the joke but to say that someone who tells it, who has CLEARLY taken on the role of parodying and joking in areas that are sensitive is truly a disgusting thing to do and regretably lends credence to the claim that jews will use the charge of ‘anti-semite’ all-together too quickly.
In other words, offensive jokes don’t the anti-semite make, even if anti-semites make offensive jokes.
Lighten up.
Of course I am not a self hating Jew… Esther, I completely agree with you.
American Jews being “eternally vigilant to the extreme for any signs of a resurgent anti-Semitism”? Hahaha. You’ve got to be F’in kidding me! They, 75% of them, elected and campaigned on behalf of Barrack Hussein Obama, a guy who sat and listened to 20+ years of his anti-Semitic pastor rant about Them Joos, was buddies with Rashid Khalidi, Farrakhan, et al. American Jews are soo busy hunting for Jew haters in southern GOP districts that they let real haters walk in the front door and even handed them money and credence. And when Jewish kids in college are afraid to say they are “pro-Israel” and worship cretins like Noam Chompsky, what do you expect?
ESTHER!
I think “anti-Semitic” is a stretch: comedy exists to dispel our discomfort, to give voice to the things we sometimes refrain from expressing, and MacFarlane has made a career of poking fun at things beyond our daily comedic comfort level. Obviously there are some people who will never find the Family Guy funny.
Not to get all super-semantic and midrashic on you, but watch the clip again. Some of your paraphrasing above is actually how the clip landed in your ears/area of sensitivity, not the way it happened, which is in itself kind of revealing.
MacFarlane’s actual “let me just ask you this” is very different from your paraphrase of “you should consider yourself lucky.” The song isn’t a song about Austria, it’s a song from his favorite movie; Borstein is the one who makes a big deal about it. And at the end, she doesn’t laugh at the end of MacFarlane’s point about Silverman – she joins in because she feels she has to. And maybe there’s a level of satire there that says, as integral as Jews are in creating content for Hollywood, there’s still a pressure to fit in.
Maybe. If you’re interested in more on this (and in the clip in question, embedded from Hulu), check out my post at Beliefnet.
It’s one thing for Jews to be self-deprecating and to laugh at ourselves. It’s another thing when Jew jokes become a norm and in every episode and when written by others than Jews. I can tolerate Larry David making fun of Jews, but Holocaust jokes from Seth McFarlane (who, IMO, isn’t the least bit funny) I can’t appreciate. Sometimes, gentiles who are around a lot of Jews think they may have a pass but to other Jews who don’t know them, it could be offensive. A great Seinfeld episode about the Dentist who converts so he can make Jew jokes comes to mind.
Lastly, I don’t know if Tiff is a self-hating Jew but it doesn’t change the fact that Hollywood is full of them and run by them.
OMG I can assure you Tiff is not a self hating Jew. My sister only hates certain Jews. Justifiably so I might add. Family Guy makes me laugh. Maybe I’m a moron, I dunno. And the best Holocaust joke ever is the fucking notion, promoted by some, that inordinately commemorating or deifying the Holocaust is an adequate replacement for, you know, actual Jewish values. And the best joke relating to Anti-Semitism? That American Jews have to remain eternally vigilant to the extreme for any signs of a resurgent anti-Semitism lest jack booted thugs start marching down 5th Avenue chanting “Juden Raus!” tomorrow.
ck,you’re absolutely right. large-scale atrocities are not unique to jews or the 20th century and it has become a perverse cottage industry and pretext to arrogance and present day persecution(palestine). there are many notions that foster this kind of arrogance be it the concept of “master race”,of being european,god’s “chosen ones” etc. given the technology and numbers(greed is already built in) anyone is capable of this.
It takes such idiocy to compare Nazis to Israelis that it’s a wonder Kevin knows how to type.
you’re wrong. are you jewish? your comment reeks of self-interest. besides,i never spoke of the third reich in particular-you did. it was only one example among innumerable and israel definitely qualifies as an atrocious entity(apparently i know how to type). i also know how to read and i’m still learning how to see things objectively or at least try to reconcile them within the realm of human experience. you sound like a victim,if you are a jew in america YOU’RE NOT. pull your head out of your provincial ass
When you compared “master race” to “chosen people” in the context of “large-scale atrocities” that are “are not unique to jews,” you actually did make that comparison.
You are welcome to your opinion of Israel, even if you are wrong.
As for your continued idiocy, this time in the form of “you sound like a victim,if you are a jew in america YOU’RE NOT. pull your head out of your provincial ass,” please know that I’m laughing at you.
I must be a self hating Jew then because I think Family Guy is hysterical. What’s wrong with laughing at some stereotypes? Have you seen The Cleveland Show? I don’t feel singled out by Family Guy…they make fun of everything. So, it was cool too laugh at Micheal J. Fox’s Parkinson’s or Britney using her child soft spot as an ashtray, but last night’s special was too far? I don’t get it.
What do you expect? Self-hating Jews run Hollywood.
Sadly Beth this is the new trend in hollywood.I think the worst episode was when Louis found out she was jewish.
There’s also an episode where Lois’ biological parents are found out to be wealthy WASPs.
There must be something to the rumour that the show is written by manatees.
Zach-
Did you happen to catch the joke I was referring to? And people like MacFarlane are responsible for contributing to one of the more insidious forms of discrimination. This can be just as damaging in the long-run as those you suggest I should save my disdain for.
Shame on you for being so blind to the fact that each time someone cracks a joke like this and elicits a positive response, it just paves the way for harsher attacks the next time.
Zach-
Although I agree with you up to a point I have noticed him taking Jewish jokes above and beyond. There is a difference in funny and shock value and I think his value has run out.
Its hard to compete with 20+ years of simpsons and 13+ of south park.
Hate to tell ya this, but not EVERYONE who makes a jew joke hates jewish people. Same with any other joke about race and religion. (as an aside, did you know that ‘jew’ and ‘jewish’ are spellcheck-flagged by chrome?)
If you want to take undying offense every time you hear a joke about your personal demographic, thats your call, but it’s a surefire way to make you a more angry, bitter person.
If you’re willing to take some advice, save your disgust for the people who truly deserve it. Save it for genuine holocaust deniers or aryan-nation asshats. Save it for the fundie pricks who spend half their time talking about how much they hate jews, and the other half picking the next schoolbus to blow up.
That is all.
I missed that episode…
did you not see “family goy” ?
the amon geoth scene ala schindler’s list did it for me.
For future reference:
Actors of fully Jewish background: -Logan Lerman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Bar Refaeli, James Wolk, Julian Morris, Esti Ginzburg, Kat Dennings, Erin Heatherton, Odeya Rush, Anton Yelchin, Paul Rudd, Scott Mechlowicz, Lizzy Caplan, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Gal Gadot, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Marla Sokoloff, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Adam Brody, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gabriel Macht, Halston Sage.
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers -Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Eva Green, Emmy Rossum, Jennifer Connelly, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman.
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jews and/or identify as Jews: -Andrew Garfield, Ezra Miller, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Ben Foster, Nikki Reed, Zac Efron.
Actors with one Jewish-born parent and one parent who converted to Judaism -Dianna Agron, Sara Paxton (whose father converted, not her mother), Alicia Silverstone, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.