Who's Retarded Now?

‘Family Guy’ Voice Actor Says Palin ‘Does Not Have a Sense of Humor’
By DAVE ITZKOFF

Since it was shown on Sunday, an episode of the Fox animated comedy “Family Guy” has drawn the repeated condemnation of Sarah Palin, the former Republican governor of Alaska and 2008 vice-presidential nominee.

In the episode, the teenage character Chris dates a girl named Ellen, who has Down syndrome, and who tells him over dinner that her mother is “the former governor of Alaska.” Ms. Palin, whose son Trig also has Down syndrome, has said that the “Family Guy” show “really isn’t funny” and was the work of “cruel, cold-hearted people.” Ms. Palin’s daughter Bristol has written that the “Family Guy” writers were “mocking my brother and my family,” and called them “heartless jerks.”

One person who supports the “Family Guy” staff is Andrea Fay Friedman, the 39-year-old actor and public speaker who played Ellen in that episode. Like the character, Ms. Friedman also has Down syndrome.

In an e-mail message sent on Thursday to The New York Times, Ms. Friedman wrote:

I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska” was very funny. I think the word is “sarcasm.”

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.

I wasn't going to weigh in on Palin-Retarded Gate. I figured Seth McFarlane has made a career out of making tasteless jokes and he doesn't need anyone coming to his defense. But then I remembered the ridiculous hubbub over Rahm Emmanuel's comments about the Congressional democrats being "retards." Palin called those comments deplorable (or some synonym that she can actually spell and pronounce) but when Rush Limbaugh echoed Emmanuel's comments Palin backed him up and said that a satirist should be able to use the word. What is Seth McFarlane if not a satirist? I'd like to know if the Avon lady could even define the word satire. She can't go away soon enough.