‘Family Guy’ Actor Says Palins Didn’t Get the Joke
Turns out that Andrea Fay Friedman, the voice actor who played the part of Ellen on the last episode of "Family Guy," has Down syndrome, as does her character on Fox's cheeky cartoon As it also happens, Friedman thinks Sarah Palin (continued).
Turns out that Andrea Fay Friedman, the voice actor who played the part of Ellen on the last episode of “Family Guy,” has Down syndrome, as does her character on Fox’s cheeky cartoon. As it also happens, Friedman thinks Sarah Palin got the wrong idea from one of Ellen’s wisecracks on the show, when the character tells her dinner date, “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska.”
That apparently didn’t sit well with Palin, now a Fox News commentator, who called the creators of “Family Guy” “cruel, coldhearted people” and made room on her Facebook page for one of her actual daughters, Bristol, to signal her own disapproval as well. To both Palins, Friedman offered the following hint in an exchange with The New York Times: “I think the word is ‘sarcasm.’ “
In a Times interview published Thursday, Friedman had more to say about the Palins, “Family Guy” and her career.
Your support is crucial...The New York Times:
Q. When did you find out about the reaction that the episode elicited from Sarah Palin and her family?
A. [laughs] That I did not even know about until my mom told me, “You’re on Channel 4!” And when I watched on Channel 4, on “Extra,” and I saw Sarah Palin with her son Trig. I’m like, “I’m not Trig. This is my life.” I was making fun of Sarah Palin, but not her son.
Q. Do you agree with what she and her daughter Bristol were saying, that the character and the jokes were insulting to people with Down syndrome?
A. It’s not really an insult. I was doing my role, I’m an actor. I’m entitled to say something. It was really funny. I was laughing at it. I had a nice time doing voiceover. It was my first time doing a voiceover, and I had fun.
As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality behind the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.