Seth MacFarlane Defends Himself Against Charges Of Misogyny While Promoting New Holiday Album

Seth MacFarlane, hitting the promo trail for his new album of holiday standards, Holiday for Swing!, has hit out at claims he's misogynist in an interview with Glamour magazine. 

The creator/star of Family Guy and American Dad, and director/star of Ted and A Million Ways To Die In the West is busy pushing his second album, but still can't shake accusations of misogyny stemming from his programs and controversial turn at hosting the Oscars in 2013.

In the chat with Glamour he refutes the idea that he's misogynist, saying "I'll never understand the use of the word misogynist. It's no different than saying somebody is racist. I'm sure a lot of that comes from Family Guy because of its edge, but I am not Family Guy."

While promoting the album - which features MacFarlane singing standards such as "I'll be Home For Christmas" and "Let It Snow", backed by a 65-piece orchestra - bristled at the accusations that his Oscars opening number "We Saw Your Boobs" was sexist.   

"That's a pretty serious accusation," he said to Glamour. "[The song] was presented as part of an alternate universe where everything at the Oscars was done incorrectly, [but] the media ignored the context entirely. Comedy and satire being treated with more outrage than actual sexism, racism, or homophobia makes no sense at all."

MacFarlane's claims were shot down by in response by Elisabeth Donnelly at Flavorwire, who pointed out that satire and comedy don't really ring true in a conversation where women and their achievements are diminished to the point that all that matters is that we saw their "boobs". 

"It wasn't funny," said Donnelly, "even by the limited, 12-year-old boy standards of the MacFarlane oeuvre. It didn't say anything interesting or profound about the role of women in film, or the roles that have, for better or worse, defined their careers." 

In the Glamour interview MacFarlane strangely refuted the idea of his being misogynist by listing off all the people around him who, y'know, happen to be female? "My manager is a woman, my publicist is a woman, my accountant is a woman," he said. "My producer, who runs all of the animated television series and presides over everyone, is a woman. I'm not sure how that label applies given those realities and my personal philosophies."

It does, however, bring up the idea that if MacFarlane wanted to not be seen as sexist, he should've included a song about which guys' junk we saw?

Anyway, in keeping with his crooning persona and penchant for classic standards, last week TMZ reported on a MacFarlane outing where the actor/director/singer got his karaoke on and took on a number of Sinatra songs. 

In brighter news for the multi-talented entertainer, he appears finished on Ted 2, the follow-up to his 2012 movie about a brought-to-life teddy bear starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. 

Aaaand #Ted 2 is wrapped

— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) November 13, 2014

MacFarlane also hosted the second annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, where Hollywood fetes mathematicians and scientists. It will air on the Discovery and Ccience channels on Nov.15. Holiday For Swing! is out now.