Top 10 Times Family Guy Made Fun of Celebs

KISS plays a small role in the “Family Guy” canon, as Lois dated Gene Simmons before he was famous. They clearly still have some sort of connection, as seen in “Don’t Make Me Over” when Gene uncoils his hilariously long tongue and…says hello to Lois. They do however play a major role in 2002’s episode “Road to Europe”, where Ace Frehley is portrayed as a bumbling doofus and Peter argues that no one wants to dress like Peter Criss. And who can forget the iconic fictional TV show “KISS Saves Santa,” where the band is portrayed as corny sellouts reduced to doing a stupid Christmas movie. Then again, it doesn’t get much cornier than KISS…

Once upon a time, it was really cool to make fun of Justin Bieber, and “Family Guy” definitely jumped on that bandwagon. His biggest appearance is in season eleven’s “Lois Comes Out of Her Shell,” when she attends his concert. A woman in the audience talks about his gender-fluid appeal, and once Peter takes over on stage, he presents Conway Twitty with an old school Bieber haircut. In another instance, a futuristic elderly Stewie comments on Bieber (and Katy Perry) being “real music” in a hilarious jab at misaimed nostalgia. Bieber is later described in “An App a Day” as a celebrity that became successful despite exposing himself and finally, in the song “Thank the Whites,” Peter states that the Biebs talks and dresses like he’s black.

If there’s one thing “Family Guy” desperately wants us to know, it’s that John Travolta is a closeted homosexual. The first jab comes in “Petergeist,” when a cutaway shows Travolta getting confused during his wedding vows and mentioning wife Kelly Preston’s penis. In “Mr. and Mrs. Stewie,” Peter grows incensed over Lois buying twin beds and compares their sexless sleeping arrangement to that of Travolta and Preston. In “Bigfat,” Quagmire procures Travolta’s private plane after catching him sleeping with “someone” other than Preston. And finally, a cutaway in “Peter’s Def Jam” shows Travolta as a pilot encouraging his passengers to come out of the closet. Does Seth MacFarlane know something we don’t?

Like John Travolta, a majority of the jabs aimed at John Goodman target a specific area--in this case, his weight. Perhaps the most famous crack on Goodman is the cutaway that shows him eating an entire Thanksgiving dinner by himself while his emaciated family looks on. During a restaurant conversation, Stewie pressures Jillian to purge after a meal by comparing her “meaty” body to Goodman’s (along with Ruben Studdard and Santa). We also see John grow concerned after hearing his heartbeat (which he mistakes for a “boob stomach”). But a particularly vicious double dig occurs in “Hot Shots”, as Goodman is told his EKG reading spells out “pancakes” before needing a pair of horses to help him walk. It’s meanspirited as hell, but what do you expect? This is “Family Guy”.

“Family Guy’s” writers and producers clearly aren’t touched by Coldplay’s music. In one hilarious cutaway, Peter is kicked out of the band after suggesting they change up their signature style. In “Valentine’s Day in Quahog,” Meg’s date confidently states his opinion of Coldplay in reference to his own personal style. The writers also take a dig at their overly sentimental music, as Clocks can be heard playing during a cliche fictional movie about a busy corporate woman finding love. Having endured criticism in the past for being overly sensitive, Coldplay are no strangers to jokes like these and they certainly take them in stride.

Having both evolved in the 2000s, “Family Guy” has had a front row seat to Jimmy Fallon’s career and they love to call out his quirks. Back in 2005, Peter beat Jimmy on the set of “Saturday Night Live” for laughing and glancing at the camera too much, a criticism that was often directed towards him at the time. When Fallon became host of “The Tonight Show,” the jokes were aimed at his safe and corporate image. After failing to make a viral video, Peter mentions that they should have gotten Fallon to do something lame instead, and in “HTTPete”, Peter watches “The Tonight Show” where Jimmy emasculates Al Pacino by making him play a childish game. We don’t think they care too much for his hosting duties. Or his acting, for that matter.

Speaking of late night hosts, Jay Leno doesn’t get off easy either. In fact, he arguably gets it worse. For one thing, they make fun of his physical appearance, as fictionalized Leno always appears with a massively exaggerated chin. They also take digs at his high-pitched voice, bizarre laugh, and delivery style in episodes “I Dream of Jesus” and “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q”. Ironically, (or perhaps sarcastically) Stewie is portrayed as a fan of Leno’s when seen vehemently defending him after Peter makes fun of his terrible sense of humor in “The King Is Dead.” And don’t think that his fashion is off limits either, as season fourteen’s “Underage Peter” takes a swipe at Leno’s obsessive love of denim. So be thankful, Jimmy Fallon. It could be a lot worse!

Much like John Goodman, Alec Baldwin is picked on for his eating habits. Which is a little weird, considering he’s not even that big! The first jab comes in season four’s “I Take Thee Quagmire,” when Baldwin (in one of the most disturbing cutaways in the show’s history) is seen getting milked by his younger, less successful siblings. It’s just weird. In “Ratings Guy,” Peter plays a game called “Hungry Hungry Alec Baldwins,” where, in place of hippos, several Alecs gleefully devour the coloured balls without Peter’s involvement. And finally, in the “Star Wars”-inspired episode “It’s a Trap!”, C-3PO Quagmire mistakes Jabba the Hut as Alec Baldwin. Perhaps Alec’s got a bit of an eating problem.

Reynolds is one of the most beloved actors of our time and even “Family Guy” can’t resist falling for his charms. But they do so, of course, in their own way. In the episode “Follow the Money” Quagmire’s transgendered father, Ida Davis, is shown sarcastically complimenting him. In “Farmer Guy”, Peter is portrayed as the owner of a failed video store that only rented copies of Ryan Reynolds (and Sandra Bullock’s) movie “The Proposal”. Reynolds’ major appearance, however, comes in season ten’s “Stewie Goes for a Drive,” where he actually voices a homoerotic version of himself. Throughout the episode, Reynolds spends most of his time implying that he is attracted to Peter. He draws attention to his low-riding pants, tries to get his lower abdomen tickled, and gets way too intimate at dinner. If Ryan’s not the best sport, we don’t know who is!

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

The Beatles

Tom Cruise

Charlie Sheen

Robin Williams

Kanye West

Unlike Adam West, James Woods actually plays himself, albeit with a few major caveats. James first appeared in season four’s “Peter’s Got Woods” as an insanely jealous, petty and neurotic person. His clash with Peter and Brian was so memorable, it led to him becoming a regular antagonist on the show. He steals Peter’s identity, ruins Brian’s TV pilot, and even transfuses the life force of a 17-year-old girl so he can return from the dead. It was all very hilarious, but things seem to have turned sour between Woods and the show’s producers over his controversial Tweets and his issue with some of their scripts. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!