'Modern Family' co-creator Steve Levitan may leave 20th Century Fox over concerns with Fox News
The current Trump administration's policy to separate children from their parents at the border has infuriated vast swathes of the population in the country, with it reaching a point where even bipartisan politics has been cast aside to pass a legislation that puts an end to the atrocity.
However, Fox News' coverage has consistently attempted to paint the policy in a positive light, with host Laura Ingraham's stance on the issue causing a type of mass revolt amongst creators who work for the channel's parent company, 20th Century Fox TV.
After Seth McFarlane's expressed his distaste for working for the company this past Saturday, 'Modern Family' co-creator Steve Levitan has become the next to voice his anger, announcing that he would be cutting his ties after the expiry of his current contract in July.
Levitan first tweeted his agreement to McFarlane's analysis, later writing, "Let me officially join @SethMacFarlane in saying I’m disgusted to work at a company that has anything whatsoever to do with @FoxNews. This bullshit is the opposite of what #ModernFamily stands for" in direct reference to Laura Ingraham's suggestion that the child detention centers were 'essentially summer camps or boarding schools.'
He then quote-tweeted Ann Coulter claiming the migrant children were 'child actors coached by the Democrats' and wrote, "This, folks, is the face of pure evil," then pivoting to his many years in Fox Studios and tweeting that it had been a 'wonderful home' but that many weren't in the position to speak out against Fox News.
"I have no problem with fact-based conservatism (such as WSJ), but @FoxNew’s 23-hour-a-day support of the NRA, conspiracy theories, and Trump’s lies get harder to swallow every day as I drive onto that lot to make a show about inclusion," he continued before then revealing that his time at the studios may be up.
Referring to the rumored bidding war between Disney and Comcast to acquire key Fox assets, Levitan tweeted that 'sale or no sale' he would be setting up shop somewhere else. Either way, Fox News is not included in the sale and will stay behind with Fox Broadcasting Co, meaning it will no longer have any connection with the TV studios.
While it is produced by Fox's TV studio, 'Modern Family' actually airs on the Disney-owned ABC broadcast network, which led to speculations that if Disney won the bid, they would extend the popular sitcom for further seasons.
However, he insisted that he would see 'Modern Family' — which is rumored to end after the conclusion of its upcoming 10th season — through to the end but not any longer.
After the tweets drew significant attention, Levitan moved to quickly clarify his comments by releasing a statement through his agent. It read, "I have great respect and admiration for Dana Walden, Gary Newman, Peter Rice and everyone at 20th Century Fox TV studio who have all treated me so well for almost two decades. For now, I will take some time to see where these people land, and at that point, I will make a decision about my future."
Fox Studios has Seth McFarlane, who works on 'Family Guy' and 'The Orville' for them, to thank for the recent mutiny within its ranks. McFarlane was incredulous at host Tucker Carlson's suggestion that viewers should disregard all the information they hear from sources other than Fox News.
"In other words, don’t think critically, don’t consult multiple news sources, and in general, don’t use your brain. Just blindly obey Fox News," he wrote. "This is fringe shit, and it’s business like this that makes me embarrassed to work for this company."
Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, both of whom have worked for the studio in the past, also tweeted their view on recent events. Feig wrote, "I have made two films for 20th Century Fox and love the people in the movie and TV divisions. But I too cannot condone the support their news division promotes toward the immoral and abusive policies and actions taken by this current administration toward immigrant children."
Apatow voiced his disapproval, posting, "We need as many people as possible to speak out against destroying families and how Fox News supports these policies. They are a propaganda arm of this evil administration and since they are a business we should let them know how we feel about that."
"People don’t want to deal with the fact that when you work for any part of Fox you are supporting a family which has made billions lying and manipulating our citizens for their personal financial gain. Now that includes supporting the kidnapping of children. That’s your boss," he wrote in another tweet.