"The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different."

Family Guy is working to eliminate gay jokes, according to two executives at the show.

On last night’s episode, Peter Griffin becomes Trump’s new press secretary, which doesn’t last long, and at one point tells the president Family Guy would be “trying to phase out” gay jokes.

While that bit of self-referential comedy might seem like a simple throw-away joke itself, it turns out there is truth behind it, according to producer Alec Sulkin and show runner Richard Appel.

Sulkin and Appel sat down for an interview with TV Line, where they were asked about Peter’s comment, and confirmed that it was more than just a gag.

“Kind of, yes,” Sulkin said when asked if they were really trying to phase out that kind of material.

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“If you look at a show from 2005 or 2006 and put it side by side with a show from 2018 or 2019, they’re going to have a few differences. Some of the things we felt comfortable saying and joking about back then, we now understand is not acceptable.”

“It’s almost unique to Family Guy, though I can think of one other show that’s been on the air longer,” added Appel.

“But if a show has literally been on the air for 20 years, the culture changes. And it’s not us reacting and thinking, ’They won’t let us [say certain things].’ No, we’ve changed too. The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different. They’ve been shaped by the reality around us, so I think the show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways.”

Appel is likely referring to The Simpsons as the longer running show, which has faced a recent backlash regarding Apu, the Indian Kwik-E-Mart owner, whom many find to be a culturally insensitive representation.

“The idea that it’s brought pain and suffering in any way, that it was used to marginalize people, it’s upsetting, genuinely,” Hank Azaria, who voices the character, told Stephen Colbert last year.