'Family Guy' actress with Down Syndrome, Andrea Fay Friedman,
fires back at Sarah Palin
BY Neil Nagraj
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
nydailynews.com
Friday, February 19th 2010, 9:27 AM
AP/Getty
Palin lacks a sense of humor, actress Andrea Fay Friedman who played 'Family Guy' character with Down syndrome says
The ex-governor of Alaska needs to chill out, says the actress whose character on "Family Guy" drew the wrath of Sarah Palin.
"I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska” was very funny. I think the word is 'sarcasm,' Andrea Fay Friedman, who has Down syndrome, said in an email to the New York Times.
Gawker, a Web site covering the media industry, claims the report posted by the Times ommitted a line from Friedman's letter.
"My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes," the letter allegedly adds.
In an episode of Family Guy that aired last Sunday, Friedman provided the voice for a character with Down syndrome with whom another character becomes enamored.
"My mom's the former governor of Alaska," the character says when asked about her parents.
The episode was quickly condemned by advocates for the mentally disabled – including Sarah Palin, whose youngest son, Trig, has Down Syndrome.
Palin and her daughter, Bristol, quickly excoriated the show in a joint online post, with the elder Palin describing the show as "another kick in the gut."
"If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks," Bristol added.
In a subsequent appearance on Bill O'Reilly's television show, Sarah Palin said only "cruel, cold-hearted people" would make fun of the mentally disabled.
Friedman denies her "Family Guy" role was meant to ridicule Trig.
"I was making fun of Sarah Palin, but not her son," she told the Times' ArtsBeat blog in a phone interview. |
