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A recent episode of the animated comedy series "Family Guy" depicted "mass deaths at the Boston Marathon," and has now been pulled indefinitely, according to the Associated Press.
The episode itself was not similar to Monday's horrific bombings near the finish line at the prestigious annual running event in Boston, but rather it was a cut-together concoction using moments from the episode that has fueled anger and conspiracy theories. Rolling Stone summarizes the controversy:
The edited clip spliced together two unrelated scenes from "Turban Cowboy," a March episode of the animated show. The first depicted Bob Costas asking lead character Peter Griffin, "How'd you do it?" next to an image of Peter leaning out of his car at the finish line of the marathon, with the bodies of runners splayed out on the pavement behind him. The clip then cuts to Peter dialing a cellphone that detonates explosions off-camera.
Among those denouncing the widely-circulated clip was "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, who Tweeted:
Wednesday a Fox spokesperson says "Turban Cowboy," which aired March 17, has been taken off Fox.com and Hulu.com, and will not be airing on broadcast again.
