FXX
In a recent survey by Senior Living to decipher the most offensive television show of all-time, Southpark, Family Guy, and Jerry Springer all reached the podium. Nowhere in the top five was It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which is surprising for a show with an episode titled The Gang Gets Racist.
With 13 seasons of any comedy show, it wouldn’t be hard to string together a montage of jokes that would trigger the general public, but with Always Sunny, you don’t need to dig too far. Co-creator Glenn Howerton, who plays Dennis on the show, recently told GQ of the one episode he regrets creating for its offensive nature.
Was it the episode titled Charlie Gets Molested, when Charlie and the McPoyle twins lie about being molested as kids by their former gym teacher, prompting Mac to get jealous that Charlie was molested and he wasn’t?
Was it the episode titled The Gangs Goes Jihad, when the gang dresses up as “terrorists” and speaks gibberish to threaten and Israeli businessman?
Nope. The regrettable episode, according to Howerton, was the ninth episode of the third season titled, Sweet Dee’s Dating A Retarded Person, which aired all the way back in 2007. Dee begins dating a local rapper who Dennis tells her is retarded, and as the episode unfolds, she begins to believe him.
“We thought it was terrible. One of the few regrets I have. I would change that title now. I do find that title offensive, personally. At the time I don’t even know what I was thinking.”
Here is a 45-second clip that sums up the episode quite nicely. So cringey.
It’s amazing how in a world of intense scrutiny and virtue signaling, a show as offensive as Always Sunny has stuck around for 13 years. Makes me believe the world hasn’t totally lost its sense of humor.