Seth MacFarlane Reveals Origins of Kevin Spacey Joke on 'Family Guy'

Seth MacFarlane is opening up about the origins of the Kevin Spacey joke on his series Family Guy, which was featured on the show over a decade ago.

The 44-year-old actor and show creator appeared on the Fox panel at the 2018 Winter TCA Tour on Thursday afternoon (January 4) at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena, Calif.

Seth was joined by co-stars Mila Kunis and Seth Green, along with some of the shows other writers and producers.

In a moment from an episode aired in 2005, the character Stewie is seen naked while running through a mall and shouting, “Help! I’ve escaped from Kevin Spacey‘s basement!” This was long before the Oscar-winning actor was accused of sexual misconduct by many people.

“I don’t remember who pitched the joke,” Seth said (via EW). “I remember when it was pitched… that was a rumor I had actually not heard and other people in the writers’ room had. And it had to be sort of explained to me: ‘Oh, there’s this rumor that’s going on.’”

“I think that that was something where he was coming off a story where he had been kind of beaten up in a London park, and he claimed that he was walking his dog late at night and fell, and I think that raised a lot of eyebrows,” executive producer Alec Sulkin added. “It’s one of the things in terms of Standards where if they heard the rumors, as we have, then they’ll allow it.”