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Marlee Matlin sounds off on the 'Seth & Alex' parody: 'Lighten up, people'
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It is a badge of honor to go viral these days, just ask Marlee Martlin. The Oscar-winning star of "Children of a Lesser God" is no stranger to comedy. A memorable turn on "Seinfeld" was instantly overshadowed by a bit that was featured in Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show sketch that wickedly made light of her speaking voice for laughs. Decidely politically incorrect in its view of the hearing impaired, Matlin has embraced the punchline in the media. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, she offered her reasons for not being offended and why she was a part of the joke in the first place.
"I had been in touch with Seth MacFarlane’s office to ask him to let me use my own voice in the segments where they had a cartoon character based on me," Matlin said. "After all, I have an Oscar and Alex [Borstein], who voiced me, doesn’t. God knows, I would have done a far better job of playing me than her."
Matlin doesn't feel mocked, if anything, she's learned that being part of the joke is the best course of action. In fact, watching the skit, she defiantly turns the tables on Alex Borstein to devastating effect.
"I personally have dealt with any adversity in my life with humor," Matlin added. " I was more than happy to show up and show them that I could dish it as well as I could take it and that being offensive works both ways."
Matlin agrees that skit is "very 'Family Guy.' As the show has parodied her a couple of times, she had no reservations about taking the joke further.
"I was glad to be part of it," she said. "I want to do it again and BE the voice. BTW, it only would’ve been offensive if I hadn’t laughed and I loved that you couldn’t quite figure out if I was seriously angry at Alex or not!"
Comedy remains something on Matlin's radar. She is developing her own "politically incorrect" show for Showtime with Mario Cantone and Carol Leifer (who, no surprise, wrote the "Seinfeld" episode that featured Matlin).
"The day we censor humor is a sad one for sure," Matlin concluded. "All I gotta say is, 'Lighten up, people.'”
For more of the EW interview, click on "Marlee Matlin."
Catch the Marlee Matlin clip on YouTube now!
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