Top 10 Family Guy Moments That Will Make You Cringe

“The Griffin Family History”

The Griffins are hiding in a panic room while their house is being robbed, but they have the idea of sending Meg down the vents so she can get help. Meg doesn’t want to do this, but Peter ignores her and tells everyone to spit on her so she’ll slide easily down the vents. They do so without question, and then forcibly shove her down the vent. She screams that she hates her family, and honestly, can you blame her? We get it, Meg being a punching bag is the status quo at this point, but this was just unnecessary and unsanitary. And her luck in this episode only gets worse from here.

“Tiegs for Two”

Peter is remembering an incident at Michael J. Fox’s party when suddenly we cut to him addressing the audience directly. He mentions how they originally planned to do a cutaway gag of Fox accidentally spilling wine all over Peter’s shirt, making an obvious jab at the actor’s Parkinson’s disease. They had decided not to go through with showing the sketch… and then proceed to show it anyway, completely undoing Peter’s speech about “taking the high road.” Making fun of Fox’s affliction is bad enough, but to pretend to take the high road and then immediately go back on their word is just despicable and really cheap.

“Meg and Quagmire”

Meg has just turned eighteen, and Quagmire, being the persistent pervert that he is, finally makes his move. He flirts with her, makes her feel special, and does everything he can to get her in the mood for sex. You’d think watching him try to groom his best friend’s daughter would be disgusting enough, right? Let’s not forget that Quagmire is actually sixty-one-years old, so watching him flirt and get cozy with an eighteen-year-old is even creepier. The only saving grace of this whole nightmare is watching Peter and Lois show that they genuinely care about Meg’s safety, which is a nice change from the usual “Meg the martyr” status quo.

“Brian & Stewie”

While the bottle episode “Brian & Stewie” is praised for expanding on our favorite dynamic duo’s relationship, there’s still one infamous scene that’s agonizing to sit through. When Stewie soils himself, he asks Brian to “clean” his diaper… by licking it. Reluctantly, Brian agrees to do so, and… it’s just too nasty to watch, even if we don’t actually see it. With no music or cutaways, the scene drags on tirelessly, followed by Brian eating Stewie’s vomit, and, in the extended version, cleaning Stewie’s bottom the same way. Suffice it to say, this scene leaves a horrible taste in both Brian’s and our mouths.

“Movin' Out (Brian's Song)”

The scene starts off with a fake banner advertising “The Simpsons,” then Quagmire comes in trying to get intimate with Marge, nonconsensually, we might add. She ends up falling for him and they go back to her place. Feel like cringing yet? Oh, just wait. Homer then catches them in bed and Quagmire shoots him. He then shoots the rest of the family: Marge, Bart, Lisa and yes, even little Maggie. All shot dead. Luckily, we only see the outside of the Simpsons’ house so we don’t see the actual murders. But even without seeing it, it’s hard to stomach this perverted coward murdering a beloved cartoon family, even if the two shows are animated sitcom rivals.

“Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q”

Quagmire’s sister, Brenda, has an extremely abusive boyfriend named Jeff, and he is just the worst. He mistreats her verbally, emotionally, and physically on a daily basis for no reason, and Brenda is so broken and frightened that she takes the abuse without question. Yes, because who doesn’t love watching a poor woman suffer this much? Domestic abuse is one of the worst experiences anyone in real life can endure, so having to watch it on TV is just uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop “Family Guy” from forcing us to sit through it with very little in the way of thematic justification.

“Stewie Is Enceinte”

Do we really need to spell out why this one’s so cringey? Just read the title out loud and that’s all you need to know. In a twisted attempt to grow closer to Brian, Stewie impregnates himself with the dog’s DNA and gets to experience all the ups and downs of motherhood. Even if he is a maniacal genius with a thirst for blood, Stewie is still an infant himself, so the idea of him impregnating himself is wrong on so many levels, and the actual birth is horrific even though we don’t see it. Look, we love Brian and Stewie as a duo, but did we really need to see it escalate to this?

“Peter Problems”

Peter seems to have a happy talent for taking a bad situation and making it even worse. For example, he tries to rescue a beached whale with a forklift, only to end up impaling the poor creature. What’s that? Not disturbing or disgusting enough for you? How about a full minute of Peter trying to shake the large mammal off the forklift? Though we can’t show it all here, it gets impossible to stomach, as the poor whale completely falls apart. The beachgoers are rightfully traumatized by this disgusting display while all Peter cares about is showing off his forklift skills. Makes you wonder who suffered worse: the whale or the audience?

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

Why Wouldn’t Peter Just Let Him Have the Rope?

Peter and Stereotyping Do Not Mix

Peter Manages to Make Nog Way, Way Dirtier

Our Eyes, Our Eyes…

“Peter's Sister”

The characters are gathered around the TV to watch a new version of “The Cosby Show,” subtitled “Knowing What We Know Now.” It then shows a remake of the theme song with a few female co-stars either passed out or heavily drugged. We all know what this is referencing, right? Unfortunately, Bill Cosby’s name has become synonymous with his sexual assault charges, and it’s admittedly hard to look back at his old work and not think about his disgusting crimes. Though he’s certainly ripe for ridicule, this segment is all cringe and little com. Hindsight is 20/20, but cashing in on the drama is just too painful.