Arts & Entertainment
Stewie opens up about his sexuality and accent on ‘Family Guy’
the cartoon character starts to grapple with being sexually fluid
Stewie in ‘Family Guy’ (Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
“Family Guy” dug deep into Stewie’s psyche in a special episode that addressed his sexuality and a secret about his accent.
In the episode “Send in Stewie, Please,” Stewie is sent to Dr. Pritchfield, a therapist voiced by out actor Sir Ian McKellan, after he pushes his classmate down the stairs.
“I only pushed Tyler down the stairs because I like him and I’m afraid he won’t like me back,” Stewie tells Dr. Pritchfield. “And not like him, like him. I’m not gay. This whole thing isn’t because I’m gay so calm down, I can already see you licking your chops. I’m sure you live for the ‘coming out’ sessions. If anything, I’m less gay than I used to be, not that anybody at this school would care. But do I think that Grant Gustin and I would make the most adorable Instagram couple? Yes, yes we would.”
“Grant Gustin plays The Flash on the CW if you were wondering because, you know most people over 70 probably don’t know who he is. Think young Anthony Perkins,” Stewie, whose sexuality has been a running joke on the show, adds.
Stewie opens up that he may consider himself sexually fluid.
“Anyway, fluid is something I hear being tossed around,” he says. “But I’m confident in my heterosexuality. That’s a word, right?”
When Dr. Pritchfield says it is a word, Stewie says “Okay. It just sounded strange for a second.”
The biggest revelation was that Stewie’s British accent is actually fake.
Writer Gary Janetti explained to the Daily Beast that the episode wasn’t meant to be an official coming out for Stewie but the start of him understanding his identity.
“Stewie’s extremely intelligent. When he walks into the room, within a second he identifies that therapist as gay,” Janetti says.“And the way he acknowledges that is when he says to him that this isn’t a coming out session and I’m sure you lick your chomps every time you get one of those. I’m not being defensive, but… I think he’s seeing an opportunity to say, ‘This isn’t easy. What you think this is going to be, it’s not. It’s not as actualized.’”
Watch Stewie reveal the truth about his accent below.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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