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Joy Behar, Bill Maher and Seth MacFarlane on Palin 'Family Guy' flap, videos

By April MacIntyre Feb 20, 2010, 18:47 GMT

Sarah Palin plays with son Trig on the beaches of Hawaii Fame Pictures, Inc - Santa Monica, CA, USA

The ongoing flap over Seth MacFarlane's satirical animated series "Family Guy" and Sarah Palin's outrage has TV personalities at odds over what was in jest, and what went over the line.

"The View" comedian Joy Behar, not exactly categorized as a conservative, sides with Sarah Palin in the uproar over a segment where a Down Syndrome actress voices a character out on a date with Peter Griffin's dim son.

Actress Andrea Fay Friedman, the woman who portrayed a character with Down syndrome on the animated comedy "Family Guy," says Palin needs to relax.

Earlier Sarah Palin appeared on Bill O'Reilly's FOX show expressing her anger as O'Reilly commiserated with her on "another kick in the gut" to Palin, whose youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome.

Friedman said "I guess former governor Palin does not have a sense of humor." She added that in her house, laughing is considered a good thing, and that the joke was aimed at the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, not Palin's son.

Behar, who now also hosts her own talk show on HLN, took issue with the segment.

It wasn't necessary, Behar said, for writers of "Family Guy" to connect a character with Down Syndrome to Palin.

"Why go there?" she asked on "The Joy Behar Show" Friday night. "There are so many other things to attack Sarah Palin on."

Behar added, "I think that, as comedians, we have a sort of an obligation to make fun of the guys up above, not the guys down below, people who are in trouble, people in pain," Behar said. "What’s the point of that? That’s an easy shot. So I agree with Sarah on this one."

Friday night saw the return of HBO series, "Real Time with Bill Maher," as Bill hosted the creator of the "Family Guy" series Seth MacFarlane, who broke his silence with Bill for the first time on the subject.

"She (Sarah Palin) has no sense of humor," said MacFarlane, noting that was the point of the entire segment.

"She is the Queen of fake outrage" said Maher, as MacFarlane reiterated that his show had a long history of making retarded jokes and that the point of the episode in question was not aimed at demeaning Down syndrome or anyone with challenges.