‘Family Guy,’ ‘American Dad’ pulled after rampage

Family Guy. FOX Broadcasting Corp

NEW YORK – Hollywood has responded to the rampage at a Connecticut elementary school by pulling back on its offerings, and one star says the entertainment industry should take some responsibility for such violence.

Fox pulled new episodes of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” that were to air Sunday to avoid potentially sensitive content. The originally scheduled episode of “Family Guy” had Peter telling his own version of the nativity story. The “American Dad” episode told the story of a demon who punished naughty children at Christmas. Both series plan to substitute reruns.

In addition, Fox confirmed that a scheduled repeat of “The Cleveland Show” for Sunday was swapped for another rerun of that series out of the same concern, and premieres for Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher” and the family comedy “Parental Guidance” were postponed after Friday’s shooting rampage in Newtown, Connecticut, that ended with 28 people dead, including 20 children as well as the gunman.

Hollywood should take some responsibility for such violence, Jamie Foxx, one of the industry’s biggest stars, said Saturday as he promoted Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming, ultra-violent, spaghetti Western-style film about slavery, “Django Unchained.”

In an interview, Jamie Foxx said actors cannot “turn their back” on that fact that movie violence can influence people.

The film’s press junket was continuing in New York as scheduled. Tarantino said he was tired of defending his films each time the U.S. is shocked by gun violence, saying “tragedies happen” and blame should fall on those guilty of the crimes.