Seth MacFarlane may be known for his dark sense of humor, but even he isn't laughing at a video hoax claiming his animated series "Family Guy" predicted the tragic bombing of the Boston Marathon.
The video, posted to YouTube on Monday under the title "Family Guy Boston Bombing", splices together two different clips from the episode "Turban Cowboy", which aired March 7, 2013. The first shows Peter Griffin in an interview with Bob Costas, being asked how he won the marathon. It then jumps to a clip from later in the episode where Griffin unwittingly uses the phone of a terrorist to blow up a bridge. The clips are edited together to make it look as though the character is saying he won the race by causing the explosions.
The hoax gained traction on Tuesday, thanks in large part to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who took it for a legitimate clip from the episode:
MacFarlane, a New Englander, has denounced the clip in no uncertain terms, calling it "abhorrent":
As of this writing, the edited "Family Guy" clip remains live on YouTube here.
While comedians like MacFarlane traffic in material that is often labeled "too soon" or "too far", the horrific events in Boston seem to be a little close to home right now for most. Below are some of the reactions posted on Twitter yesterday by comics, ranging from sorrow and anger to expressions of love for the people of Boston.