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‘Family Guy’ to phase out jokes about the LGBTQ community

To the surprise of all the Griffins, Meg makes the U.S. Olympic team as a biathlete and competes in the Winter Olympics in the all-new The Griffin Winter Games episode of 'Family Guy' airing Sunday, Nov. 18. FOX via Getty Images

Family Guy executive producers Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin revealed that they’re phasing out jokes about the LGBTQ community from the animated comedy.

The pair spoke to TVLine about the episode that aired on Jan. 13, which featured Peter Griffin in a battle with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In the episode, Griffin joins the Trump administration as the new press secretary. At one point, Trump gets irritated with Griffin and asks, “If Peter Griffin gets to be a jerk all the time, then why can’t Donald Trump?” Then Griffin and Trump end up in a bloody fist fight together.

READ MORE: ‘Family Guy’ joked about Kevin Spacey more than 10 years ago

Griffin quits his job working for a fellow “fat idiot who once had a hit television show and who over time has worn out his welcome” after he walked in on animated Trump sexually assaulting his daughter, Meg.

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In the same episode, Griffin also reveals to Trump that the Family Guy series will be “phasing out” inappropriate jokes directed at the LGBTQ community.

“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 in an interview with TVLine.

“It’s almost unique to Family Guy, though I can think of one other show that’s been on the air longer. But 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],'” Appel said.

Appel added: “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, so I think the show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways.”

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Many fans of the animated sitcom took to Twitter to discuss the Trump episode.

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https://twitter.com/IGIF_/status/1084693006664548353

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