Family Guy star Patrick Warburton has revealed that his family still doesn’t approve of his involvement in the show.
Warburton has voiced Joe Swanson since the first season of the comedy, which debuted in 1999 and has been running for 22 seasons. Known for its crude humour and storylines related to stereotypes, the show regularly features satirical commentary about American culture.
However, speaking at PaleyFest LA, Warburton shared that his family disapprove of the series, created by Seth MacFarlane, and even attempted to get it cancelled.
“They hate the show even more today than they did 25 years ago,” shared Warburton (via People magazine). “My father was in a monastery for three months. He almost became a monk,” he explained.
He continued:”My mother [went] around the neighbourhood when I was 13 years old passing out pamphlets on the sins of masturbation, [which] did not get me into the cool crowd. So they hate the show.”
He shared details of how his mother was involved in trying to get the series taken off air. “My mother belonged to the American Television Council and they were trying to get the show canceled,” Warburton explained .
“I was helping support my parents with Family Guy money. She tried to get me to sign the petition [to cancel the show]. I said, ‘Mom, if you don’t think I’m going to talk about this publicly, this is the greatest irony. You’re laundering money, you’re laundering it to yourself.’ They hate it more today.”
Warburton is still confident the show, which has already been renewed for a 23rd season, taking it through to 2025, is still popular. He said: “Family Guy is a show that’s been running for 25 years. “It’s a cartoon. It’s satire. As long as it remains relevant and current and creative, it [will] continue to go and to move.”
This follows a recent comment made by the MacFarlane, in which he said he didn’t see a “good reason” to end the show just yet.
