Is Stewie Griffin LGBTQ+? Everything You Need to Know

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Find out what the series creator has said about Stewie’s sexuality

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: March 23, 2026 Fact Checked

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Is Stewie Griffin gay?

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Episodes About His Sexuality

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What Seth MacFarlane Says

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Other Characters’ Sexualities

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Stewie Griffin. Genius, British baby, mad scientist, and…queer icon? While any longtime viewer of Family Guy will be familiar with the running gags surrounding Stewie’s sexual predilections, many fans have wondered—is he actually gay or not? In this article, we'll confirm Stewie's sexuality, provide evidence to back it up, and share what show creator Seth MacFarlane has said about the topic.

What Is Stewie’s Sexuality?

While there are many jokes on the show about Stewie’s queerness, he is canonically sexually fluid (something that series creator Seth MacFarlane has confirmed). There are several episodes where he shows interest in both men and women, and he has openly stated he’s still figuring out his sexuality for himself.

Section 1 of 4:

Is Stewie Griffin gay?

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He is not canonically gay, but it’s strongly implied that he’s bisexual. Stewie has never explicitly stated that he’s gay on Family Guy, but he has frequently referenced relationships with men and is openly attracted to them. He's also had relationships with women, though! He “dates” Janet early on in the series and “marries” Olivia later on, so if we just look at the evidence, Stewie is pretty clearly bisexual.
- Part of Stewie’s entire character arc is that sexuality is fluid! Stewie is a child. He’s not old enough to really know exactly what he is yet, and he shows viewers time and time again that he’s comfortable in who he is. That’s sort of the point! It’s okay to express your attractions freely without putting any labels on anything or restricting yourself to one identity.

Section 2 of 4:

Relevant Episodes About Stewie’s Sexuality

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Stewie and Brian get trapped in a bank vault (S8, E11) In the 150th episode of Family Guy, Brian and Stewie end up accidentally locked in a bank vault. There are zero cutaways, random gags, or “that time when…” jokes; it’s just Stewie and Brian. The two have some touching and intimate conversations, some of them focusing on Stewie's sexuality and performative behavior.
- This is the episode where Stewie basically outright states that he’s sexually fluid and still sort of figuring things out from himself.
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Stewie goes to therapy after pushing a kid (S16, E12) In this iconic episode, Stewie pushes a classmate down the stairs and gets sent to see a therapist, played by Sir Ian McKellen (notably, an openly gay man himself). The episode is something of an homage to Good Will Hunting, and we learn a lot about Stewie’s sexuality and how he sees himself in the world.
- This is also a fun episode because Stewie shares a little bit about why he has a British accent, so it’s a sort of two-for-one Stewie lore episode!
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Stewie falls for Olivia and learns what being gay is (S4, E27) This episode is often cited as one of the first moments where Stewie provides any insight into his sexuality. He has a “relationship” with his classmate Olivia, and the following interaction happens at the end of the show after Stewie becomes disillusioned with love:^{[1]
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- Brian: So what happened?
- Stewie: Well, you wanna know what I learned this week? Being an adult sucks. Women are a royal pain in the [butt]. It's like you can't just hang out with men, you know? Just live with someone of your sex, just do what you would do with women, but with your buddy, you know?
- Brian: They do, it's called being gay.
- Stewie: Oh, that's what gay is? Oh yeah, I could get into that.

Section 3 of 4:

What the Family Guy Creator Says

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Seth MacFarlane says Stewie’s sexuality is fluid by design. In a 2008 interview with The Advocate, Family Guy creator and actor Seth MacFarlane says that Stewie “originally began as this diabolical villain, but then we delved into the idea of his confused sexuality. We all feel that Stewie is almost certainly gay, and he's in the process of figuring it out for himself. We haven't ever really locked into it because we get a lot of good jokes from both sides, but we treat him oftentimes as if we were writing a gay character.”^{[2]
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- Seth MacFarlane also mentions using Stewie to troll homophobes: “We've had letters from homophobic fans in the past, and I sort of relish the idea of saying, "Yeah, well, you know what? Your favorite character, Stewie, is gay.”^{[3]
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Section 4 of 4:

Other Potentially LGBTQ+ Characters in Family Guy

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Lois There are several episodes where Lois implies she has dated or slept with women in the past. In one episode (S4, E19), Meg pretends to be a lesbian to make friends. Lois confronts her and the two have a conversation where Lois admits to having experimented with women when she was in college, making her potentially bisexual.
- Lois also kisses Bonnie Swanson in The Cleveland Show in a very non-jokey way, which further enforces this read.
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Peter You probably miss them because they’re often treated as throwaway jokes or Peter redirects the conversation, but there are actually over a dozen episodes where Peter either admits to being with men or being attracted to men. He even has sex with a man in one episode (S4, E9). Other notable moments include:^{[4]
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- S5, E15: Peter has a bird he confides in, who references him talking about gay experiences when he was at camp as a kid.
- S10, E25: Peter goes to a pride parade and sees a float inspired by him.
- S11, E21: Quagmire and Peter make out. Peter is very obviously into it.
- S18, E5: Peter has a flashback where he remembers having a crush on a boy in his grade school.
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Meg There are a few episodes where Meg ends up either flirting with women or seems to be pretending to be a lesbian... or is she? The showrunners have actually outright said that they’re working on an episode (that may not be released) where Meg comes out.^{[5]
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