Fox pulls Family Guy cartoon that predicted Boston bombing
An episode of the “Family Guy” animated comedy has been pulled from the Fox.com and Hulu websites by Fox after scenes which appeared to predict the Boston Marathon bombings were posted on YouTube.
The episode, “Turban Cowboy,” shown in mid-March, was taken down, the network confirmed today. Bloomberg said scenes from the episode were combined, showing the cartoon family’s father running over athletes in his car and inadvertently using a mobile phone to set off blasts to win the race.
“The edited ‘Family Guy’ clip currently circulating is abhorrent,” Seth MacFarlane, the show’s creator, wrote in a Twitter post. “The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.”
Fox, based in Los Angeles, declined to make any additional comment. TV networks often alter schedules, said Bloomberg, to avoid airing sensitive material following natural disasters or tragedies like the Newtown, Connecticut, school shootings in December.
The blasts at the Finish line of Monday's Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded more than 170. Evidence suggests the bomber used weapons made from metal pressure cookers to maximize the charge, according to investigators.