Two creators of major television shows affiliated with 21st Century Fox say they are increasingly embarrassed to work for the same company that owns Fox News, especially because of the news outlet’s favorable coverage of President Donald Trump’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border.
Seth MacFarlane, creator of a variety of Fox network shows including “Family Guy,” and Steve Levitan, co-creator of “Modern Family,” which is produced by 20th Century Fox TV, both recently expressed their personal conflicts in working under 21st Century Fox, which owns the Fox television network as well as Fox News.
“This is fringe s—, and it’s business like this that makes me embarrassed to work for this company,” MacFarlane tweeted in relation to a Fox News segment in which Tucker Carlson told viewers to believe the opposite of what the media reports. On Monday, MacFarlane donated donated $2.5 million to National Public Radio.
Levitan echoed MacFarlane’s comments.
“Let me officially join Seth MacFarlane in saying I’m disgusted to work at a company that has anything whatsoever to do with @FoxNews. This bulls— is the opposite of what #ModernFamily stands for,” Levitan said on Twitter.
Later on Tuesday, Levitan said he planned to leave Fox after “Modern Family” had come to an end.
“I look forward to seeing #ModernFamily through to the end and then, sale or no sale, setting up shop elsewhere,” he wrote on Twitter, though he then issued a statement to Variety in which he softened his stance.
They were joined by others in the entertainment and advertising industries who are questioning their business relationships over the coverage by Fox News.
Filmmaker Judd Apatow also called on Fox talent to stand up and protest the immigration policy, which has been bitterly criticized by politicians of both parties. Apatow himself worked with Fox years ago, but noted in a tweet that he has not had a professional arrangement with the network since 2002.
“We all choose who to work with,” Apatow wrote. “I understand why that is easier for some than…
