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Family Guyis a series that truly does not care about backlash. Having no exceptions of topics they cover and joke about, it has gained a reputation for being one of the most unhinged shows on television throughout its decades-long run.
The way that the audience reacts to its more extreme humor is what tells the series how far it can and can’t go. While some episodes even have the most ardent fans of the series raising eyebrows, some very bold jokes end up landing very well with their audience. However, what happens when even the viewers are confused about a joke’s presence in the series?
This is exactly what happened in the twentieth season of the show, where a joke about JK Rowling had its fans confused.
Harry Potterand theFamily Guycrossover
Family Guyhas dabbled in the world ofHarry Potterbefore, with season twenty-one’sAdoptionbeing the perfect example. While that episode simply had many references to the beloved film series, season twenty episode eight,The Birthday Bootlegger, took a different approach. Rather than focusing on dynamics within the Wizarding World and poking fun at that, the show instead focused more on real life.
AlthoughHarry Potterstill stands as one of the most formative and beloved stories of all time, the same cannot be said aboutJK Rowling. The author’s public opinion has famously soured over the years as she has become more and more outspoken about her beliefs towards transgender people. Considering she is supposed to be an icon for younger people, many parents have begun to dislike her due to her loud opinions about invalidating trans people and claiming that gender is binary.
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With this, many began making fun of the situation, andFamily Guyalso did this in the episode (viaYouTube). In the joke, Peter mentioned that he was as passionate about office birthday parties as Rowling is about adding problematic themes to beloved wizard stories.
Perhaps Slytherin, or maybe Hufflepuff, or Trans Women aren’t really women.
The series switched to a scene set in theHarry Potterworld, with the Sorting Hat voicing Rowling’s beliefs about trans people for no reason.
CouldFamily Guyhave come up with a better joke?
Family Guy’sjoke about Rowling’s entire controversy has had mixed opinions from the fans since it was first released. Some fans found it to be hilarious, but others don’t believe it to be the series’ best attempt and even call it forced. Many believe it to be yet another example of the series’ daring nature, being on board to make fun of anything and everything.
At the same time, there were those who found the joke to be unimpressive. They believe that after the controversy hit the internet, the series felt the joke to acknowledge it and ended up simply mentioning it in the episode. They believe that the series could have come up with something a lot funnier, and their attempt left a lot more forced rather than hilarious.
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“Gotta give it to the Family Guy team, no viewpoint shall be unf*cked with.”saidNickWeissMusicon YouTube.
“Well, it does explain why wizarding characters only ever use Polyjuice Potion to imitate members of their own sex.”addedDaniels7907.
“This clip feels so much like the writers of the show were aware that J. K. Rowling was being criticized and felt the need to acknowledge it but didn’t really have anything funny or insightful to say about it.” rangerkasdorf4476stated.
““HAAAAAAARRRRYYYYY POTTERRRRRRRRRRRRR! DID YOU PUT ‘TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN’ IN THE GOBLET OF CONSERVATISM?” asked Dumbledore calmly.”addedl_rob420.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly realization that their are only two genders by J.K Rowling.”mentionedPincheBrayan101.
In fact, one might argue that the jokes that fans came up with in the comments were a lot funnier than what the series came up with, simply choosing to mention what was happening rather than making fun of it.
Family Guyis available for streaming on Hulu.
Ananya Godboley
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2219
Ananya Godboley is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 2,000 articles published. She has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology from K.R. Mangalam University, Ananya also likes to fangirl as a full-time job. She covers news and analyses on anything from Rick and Morty to Hannibal and even Arcane. In between these lines, she also enjoys superheroes and Taylor Swift.A philosophy enthusiast, Ananya enjoys digging deeper into the media she consumes, trying to understand the root of her favorite characters' behavior.
