Family Guy slammed for joke about murdered rapper Nipsey Hussle

Animated comedy series Family Guy has come under fire on Twitter for mocking rapper Nipsey Hussle, who died in 2019 aged 33.

The adult animation series Family Guy – known for its vulgar comedy – has been called out for a crude joke about late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

Earlier this week, a clip from the 2021 episode resurfaced on Twitter, opening the floodgates for commentary.

The joke is derived from the Season 19 episode “Young Parent Trap” which features Chris Griffin (Seth Green) telling his parents that he’s going to attend a music festival. After being prompted for more details about the festival, Chris tells his parents that late rappers 2Pac and Nipsey Hussle will appear through holograms.

In the episode, Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) asks Chris, “Oh, a music festival, huh? Do you think the Von Trapps will stick around to pick up their award this time?”

Chris answers, “I don’t know about them, but they’re gonna have holograms of 2Pac and also Nipsey Hussle, who I’d never heard of and then was told to care immensely about.”

The joke didn’t sit well with fans given Hussle’s tragic death. The rapper was fatally shot in 2019 and died at the age of 33. His assailant was later found guilty of first-degree murder.

One Twitter user shared, “Family Guy made a Nipsey joke that was so out of pocket bruh.”

https://t.co/5x7qIZldDFpic.twitter.com/V0mfuJOIMS

— J2 🦈 (@lowkeykai_) January 24, 2023

Journalist Insanul Ahmed tweeted, “That Family Guy/Nipsey Hussle joke stings because it’s true: Nipsey never really got his flowers when he was here and he’s been eulogised more in death than in life.” Another said the joke was a “sneak diss” at the rapper.

A fourth user chimed in and mentioned show creator MacFarlane’s poor track record. They referenced MacFarlane’s short-lived spin-off The Cleveland Brown Show, which features the titular character, who is a Black man, being voiced by a white actor.

“White people show making fun of a really tragic event like that feels kinda wrong, idk, feels like mockery, don’t forget these people made Cleveland and had him voiced by Mike Henry,” they wrote.

However, not everybody is upset. Some fans of the show have been in an uproar over the controversy, arguing that Family Guy “takes on everyone” and “can never get cancelled”.

The people that make Family Guy are white....I'm sure none of them knew who Nipsey was before he died. Plus they've said worse about deceased and alive white celebs before https://t.co/8ukOD4vJ5M

— 𝑆ℎ𝑢𝑔𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑎 💕 (@slimfineMF) January 25, 2023

Family Guy has been on and off the air since 1999 and currently has 21 seasons.

The show was cancelled by Fox after three seasons in 2002 and aired its “final episode” on Adult Swim the following year.

Due to its overwhelming popularity, the show was revived by the network in 2004 where it has continued airing.

This article originally appeared on Decider and has been reproduced here with permission