'Family Guy' to do away with gay jokes

Family Guy is coming to age as the animated comedy has decided to drop the jokes that come at the expense of the gay community. According to TV Line, the development was revealed during Sunday's episode in a meta scene in which Peter (voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane) tells a cartoon President Donald Trump that Family Guy would be trying to "phase out" gay jokes.

Executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel confirmed the move, calling it an effort on their part to better reflect the current scenario through the Fox series, that starting airing from 1999.

"If you look at a show from 2005 or 2006 and put it side by side with a show from 2018 or 2019, they're going to have a few differences. Some of the things we felt comfortable saying and joking about back then, we now understand is not acceptable," Sulkin said.

Appel added that the show has to "shift and evolve" in a lot of ways.

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"If a show has literally been on the air for 20 years, the culture changes. And it's not us reacting and thinking, 'They won't let us (say certain things).'

"No, we've changed too. The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different. They've been shaped by the reality around us..." he said.

The decision comes in the wake of the Kevin Hart Oscars controversy, where the actor-host stepped down from emceeing Academy Awards 2019 after his old homophobic tweets resurfaced.

During its 17-season run, Family Guy has targeted Stewie, the baby in the Griffin family, with gay jokes as part of a regular gag.