Family Guy is making a big change, and it looks like a certain actor may no longer be welcome in Quahog. The animated Fox series is removing James Woods’ name from the high school attended by Meg and Chris Griffin and renaming it after one of the show’s most beloved characters.
According to Indiewire , the decision to rename Quahog’s high school was revealed Saturday during the Family Guy panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Executive producer Steve Callaghan explained that the move was made to pay tribute to Adam West, who passed away last June at age 88. West voiced a kooky fictionalized version of himself on Family Guy , a mayor who calls the cops when he runs out of Lite Brite pegs and believes that the press can’t see him when he covers his eyes with his hands.
“We thought it was fitting to pay tribute to him, not only as a character but a person in our lives,” Callaghan said. “We decided to rename the high school on the show, and from this point forward it will be Adam West Regional High School.”
However, Alex Borstein, who voices Lois Griffin on the show, suggested that there was a second motive for the high school’s renaming.
“…and stick it to James Woods!” she added.
#FamilyGuy creator Seth MacFarlane is paying tribute to Adam West—”You’re irreplaceable”: https://t.co/8iogixeG94 pic.twitter.com/JK1NayUiBU
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 10, 2017
Indiewire pointed out that Woods, who has starred in movies like Casino and Videodrome , has angered some Family Guy fans by expressing right-wing viewpoints on Twitter. Earlier this month, the Telegraph dubbed Woods “the angriest Republican in Hollywood” after the actor complained about his “political liberal” agent deciding to celebrate Independence Day by dropping Woods as a client.
Woods is a fervent Donald Trump supporter who has called for the president to “unleash the dogs of war,” as reported by The Wrap . He made a graphic homophobic comment about Anderson Cooper after the CNN host rolled his eyes at Trump surrogate Kellyanne Conway, and he once suggested that an underage gender creative boy would grow up to be a serial killer. He’s also compared DACA recipients to larvae, and he recently went after Parkland High School shooting survivor David Hogg.
#DACA is a yet another voter fraud scam by the Democrats, pure and simple. #DemocratLarvae
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 4, 2017
You sound like you’re getting yours about now… https://t.co/HSE56yTqwv
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 14, 2018
James Woods often defends and commends Donald Trump on Twitter , while Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has called Trump supporters “seriously f**ked in the head” for finding it “acceptable for a Big Mac-chomping reality TV personality to rip a family apart for political gain.”
There’s no word on whether Seth MacFarlane and James Woods have had a falling out over Donald Trump, but the latter did tweet his love for the former last October.
I love @SethMacFarlane . He is a dear friend. Liars are who I loathe. Luckily they are the easiest to bring to account. https://t.co/ybA8Xjfocm
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) October 8, 2017
However, Woods may not appreciate an upcoming episode of Family Guy that mocks the president. According to Entertainment Weekly , the plot involves Donald Trump hiring Peter Griffin as his Communication Director, with the duo’s goal being to spread lots of actual “fake news.” However, their relationship sours when underage Meg Griffin has an “unpleasant encounter” with Trump.
So far, no one has revealed whether James Woods’ days as a recurring Family Guy character are over. During an interview with A.V. Club , MacFarlane talked about how Woods came to play a fictional version of himself on multiple episodes of the series.
“The school on the show is called James Woods High, and he got wind of that and thought it was funny and wanted to do the show. We were obviously thrilled, so we wrote an episode around him,” MacFarlane said.
James Woods isn’t on the list of celebrity guest stars who will voice characters during the upcoming 17th season of Family Guy . Some famous voices that fans can expect to hear are those of Patrick Stewart, Mandy Moore, Sam Elliot, and Sarah Paulson.
Family Guy season 17 trailer mocks Stranger Things, The Orville https://t.co/YZCLMPgiS5
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) July 21, 2018
Adam West isn’t the only beloved star whose absence will be felt on Family Guy ; Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher voiced Peter Griffin’s boss before her untimely passing in 2016. Peter will now be under new management at the brewery he works at, with Bryan Cranston and Niecy Nash stepping in to voice his married co-bosses. You can check out a highlight reel for Season 17 below.