Crying Carol
Carol Burnett filed a lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles against Fox and “The Family Guy” for using one of her signature characters. Carol claims that the show asked her permission to use the theme song from “The Carol Burnett” show and when she turned them down, they wrote the episode anyway.
The episode called “Peterotica” features Peter going into a porn shop and meeting a woman dressed up in a blue bonnet, bucket and mop like Carol’s character “the charwoman.” An altered version of the theme song plays in the back. The character also tugs her ear like Carol used to do as a “hello” to her grandmother.
Carol and her lawyers want $6 million clams in damages.
Fox said, : “‘Family Guy,’ like the ‘Carol Burnett Show,’ is famous for its pop culture parodies and satirical jabs at celebrities. We are surprised that Ms. Burnett, who has made a career of spoofing others on television, would go so far as to sue ‘Family Guy’ for a simple bit of comedy.”
So is Carol mad, because the character worked in a porn shop? She needs to get over it. Fox is right she used to make fun of shows and people back in the day. I kind of love Carol, but it’s annoying that she’s moaning about something so petty.
You can catch the scene in question and the entire lawsuit at The Smoking Gun.