‘Family Guy’ Creator Doesn’t Like That Fox Hires Conservatives

“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane has never been shy about his politics, even when it comes to his own employer.

MacFarlane has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, and he previously endorsed Bernie Sanders for president.

His sharpest political criticisms are usually lobbed at Fox News, which is strange, considering MacFarlane is employed by Fox (owned by the same corporation as Fox News) and has two shows currently on the air through them.

“There are things I don’t like about Fox, most notably Fox News, but [Rupert] Murdoch is clearly a shrewd businessman first and a conservative second … He seems to be much more of a critical thinker than the guys he employs at Fox News. If Sean Hannity could think as critically as Rupert, I might like him,” MarFarlane told Playboy back in 2009.

He also regularly insults Fox News through his Twitter account.

“We both make up fake stories for the Fox Corporation! Isn’t that cool?” he wrote last year about the news channel.

Despite his criticisms, he hasn’t let it affect his output of work. “Family Guy” is currently in its 16th season, while his latest show, “The Orville,” is headed into its second. Both air on Fox.

Other programs by MacFarlane that have aired through Fox include “Dads,” “The Cleveland Show,” “American Dad,” and others.

On Monday, MacFarlane responded on Twitter to a story from Vox titled “Fox News’ Appalling Past 72 Hours, Analyzed.”

MacFarlane tweeted with the story, “Getting harder and harder to go to work.”

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Apparently not too hard, though, because as of this writing, all of MacFarlane’s shows still remain in production with Fox.

MacFarlane’s issue seems to be that he works for a corporation that also separately hires conservatives. In the past, the filmmaker has been relatively fair to those with whom he disagrees.

Though it’s a left-leaning show, “Family Guy” has had multiple guest appearances by Rush Limbaugh and conservative actor James Woods, a Trump supporter who last appeared on the show in 2017.

MacFarlane has been open to talking to conservatives in the past and even employing them, so why would he have a problem working under the same umbrella as them?

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The truth is MacFarlane is a talented guy. He has three popular television shows actively on the air, does a good portion of the voices in two of them, and leads the third. In addition, he has an impressive singing career on the side.

With his talent and name recognition, he can go anywhere he wants with his work. He doesn’t need to work for Fox and continually insult it.  He can leave and find someone else to sign his checks.

If he did make such a move, though, he’d discover quickly that he can’t simply work with and for people who think exactly as he does. A variety of opinions and beliefs is a good thing, especially if that variety comes from the same place.

MacFarlane will have to hope there are no conservatives employed at the House of Mouse — otherwise he’ll be running to Twitter again to insult his employer.

MacFarlane’s issue with Fox News may be solved soon enough anyway. With Disney’s recent purchase of 20th Century Fox assets, rumors have swirled that entities such as Fox News will be kept separate from the deal.

If he ends up moving to the House of Mouse, though, MacFarlane will have to hope there are no conservatives employed there — otherwise he’ll be running to Twitter again to insult his employer.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter. 

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Seth MacFarlane [1], [2], CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)