'Family Guy' Actor Sides With Palin, Didn't Like Down Syndrome Joke

One of the actors involved in the hit cartoon series "Family Guy" has come out in support of Sarah Palin by voicing his disapproval of a Down Syndrome joke in a recent episode.

As NewsBusters reported on Valentine's Day, the Fox program made what some have considered a tasteless swipe at the Palins by having a character with Down Syndrome state, "[My] mom is the former governor of Alaska."

Sarah and Bristol Palin later expressed their disgust with the remark while the actress directly involved said they needed to get a sense of humor.

According to the Washington Post's TV Column blog, a member of the "Family Guy" cast has actually come out in support of the Palins:

Cast member Patrick Warburton told TV critics Wednesday he objected to the joke.

"I know it's satire but, personally, that [joke] bothered me too," Warburton said on a conference call to promote his other primetime show, CBS's sitcom "Rules of Engagement," which returns for a fourth season on March 1. (On "Family Guy" Warburton does the voice of the wheelchair-bound police officer, Joe.)

"I know that you have to be an equal-opportunity offender, but there are some things that I just don't think are funny."

Shhh. Wait. It gets better:

"Look, I have fun. I like Seth [MacFarlane, the show's creator]. He's got a great comic mind and I think that the show can be fantastically funny. But I do believe that it can be hurtful at times," Warburton said in response to a question about the episode posed by WaPo Team TV's "Family Guy" bureau chief Emily Yahr. [...]

"A show like that ... is going to offend everybody at one point or another," the actor said.

"My mother actually believes my soul's in peril for being on the show," he added.

Hold up, for the Post felt it needed to make sure readers knew Warburton was being sarcastic with that last line:

Note to Ms. Palin -- he was making a joke.

Phew. And I thought he was being serious.