Unveiling the Truth Behind the Shocking 'Lois Is Dead' Hoax in Family Guy

Animated characters possess the remarkable ability to maintain a consistent age throughout their entire existence. This should come as no surprise, as their ages and appearances are solely dictated by their animators. Take, for instance, Bart Simpson from The Simpsons, who has remained a perpetually ten-year-old for almost 34 years.

Furthermore, as long as voice actors are willing to continue their roles or suitable replacements can be found, animated characters remain integral to their shows from beginning to end. However, there have been rare instances where an animated character is either written off or removed from their respective show. Yet, occasionally, this demise is nothing but a clever ruse, as exemplified by the beloved FOX series Family Guy.

Thanks to a lone tweet, followers of Family Guy were led to believe that Lois Griffin, the matriarch of the Griffin family, had met her demise officially. Although it wouldn't be the initial instance of fans being misled into thinking that one of their beloved characters had passed away, it was conceivably the first time that they were deceived by an internet troll instead of the show's creator, Seth MacFarlane.

What is the 'Lois Is Dead' Hoax?

In December 2022, the internet witnessed a viral trend with the hashtag "Lois is dead," where social media users mourned the alleged demise of Lois Griffin. The catalyst for this uproar was a tweet from @minasdemon on Twitter, stating "Lois Griffin DEAD AT 43." While some individuals were quick to dismiss this news as a mere fabrication, a substantial number of others fell prey to the deception.

With over 22 million views as of July 2023, believers flooded the reply section to express their sadness and disbelief. During this time, Family Guy was on a mid-season break and had not aired a new episode for two weeks. While skeptics claimed the trend was a hoax, those who believed were left waiting for two more weeks until the show returned and confirmed that Lois was still alive.

However, in those two weeks, a disturbing and distasteful trend emerged on social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok. What began as lighthearted and innocent videos where people recorded their family's reactions to the fictional character Lois Griffin dying at 43, took a darker turn. People started informing their loved ones about the deaths of real-life celebrities and filming their reactions, labeling it the "Celebrity Death Prank" challenge.

The possibility of Lois' voice actor, Alex Borstein, leaving or passing away caused distress among fans. However, it was soon proven false as Borstein is healthy and has no plans of leaving Family Guy, as long as she enjoys the writing. Surprisingly, a single tweet caused a significant uproar online, possibly due to previous instances where fans were led to believe characters were meeting their end.

Have Other Family Guy Characters Died?

Family Guy characters have died or been removed from the show several times, with one of the most memorable instances being Lois. In a two-part special episode from season 6, titled "Stewie Kills Lois", Lois is killed by her youngest child Stewie.

Fans of the show are aware that in the early seasons, Stewie was determined to achieve two things: world domination and killing his mother. After six seasons, Stewie finally succeeds in killing Lois while they are on a cruise ship. However, things take a turn when the Griffin family is left wondering about Lois' fate, and Peter becomes the prime suspect. Just as he is about to be sentenced for the murder, Lois dramatically enters the courtroom and reveals that the true culprit is Stewie.

The subsequent portion of this special focuses on the aftermath, wherein Stewie unveils his malevolent nature and embarks on a quest for global domination. In what appears to be the conclusion, Stewie is ultimately vanquished by Peter. However, following his demise, it is revealed that the entire series of events that unfolded after Lois' attempted murder was simply a simulation orchestrated by Stewie himself, in order to assess the consequences of actually killing his own mother. Consequently, none of it actually occurred.

In season 12, episode 6, the dog Brian from the Griffin family gets hit by a car and passes away. However, Stewie decides to reconstruct his time machine and goes back in time to rescue Brian after destroying it earlier. Eventually, Stewie succeeds and his actions in the past ensure that Brian never dies in the first place.

In a more somber tone, two minor characters also meet their demise in the show. This unfortunate event occurred because the voice actors behind these characters had passed away in real life. Both Peter's boss Angela, who was portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher, and Quahog Mayor Adam West, who was voiced by the legendary Batman actor himself, passed away in 2017. Consequently, the show holds two fictional funerals to honor and bid farewell to these beloved characters.

The "Lois Is Dead" hoax serves as a reminder not to readily believe Twitter posts unless a character from Family Guy passes away on the show. However, it should be noted that MacFarlane occasionally enjoys toying with his fans to create moments of humor and surprise.