How Mila Kunis Became The Voice Of Meg Griffin On ‘Family Guy’
If you didn’t catch the first season of Family Guy then you might not know that Mila Kunis wasn’t always the voice of the black sheep family member Meg Griffin. Meg Griffin, who is constantly put down, and whose looks are at the center of many jokes, wasn’t always voiced by Kunis. As Huffington Post points out, in the first season, the character was voiced by Lacey Chabert.
Most longtime viewers of the show or those who enjoy an occasional episode on a rerun are aware that older episodes are without Kunis’ distinct voice. The mystery of why Kunis stepped in for the Party of Five actress has long been theorized, but Chabert cleared up just why it didn’t work out.
The Mean Girls actress explained the Family Guy situation during an interview with GameSpy. When asked if she had a grudge against Mila Kunis, who went on to become the known voice for the popular series, Chabert explained the situation behind her departure.
“No, I actually left the show of my own accord. And only because I was in school and doing Party Of Five at the time. But I think the show is hilarious, and don’t have a grudge against her at all. I think she’s a great actress.”
Sounds drama free, right? The only time this was addressed was in a tongue-in-cheek way during an episode in season eight where the character Lois questions if Peter (voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane) would never fire her. To that Peter replies, “Does the name Lacey Chabert mean anything to you?”
This left people to continue to believe that she was fired from the show. As for Seth MacFarlane, he admitted that he didn’t really know or couldn’t remember the reason behind Lacey’s exit. At the time, the actress was still enjoying her Party of Five fame.
“I think there was a mistake in her contract, and I guess she had not intended to be involved for, like, the full run of the show. I don’t even remember. To be honest, I don’t really, to this day, know what it was. It was nothing –- there was no tension or anything.”
That said, it looks like this change was just meant to be as Mila Kunis’ biting personality and voice gave life to an otherwise ignored character.
These days, Chabert is a voice actress.
[Image via 20th Century Fox Television]
