The Simpsons and Family Guy episode under fire for rape joke

The long-awaited Simpsons/Family Guy crossover episode hasn't even aired and already it's causing controversy over a rape joke.

The punchline appears at the end of a joke featuring Bart Simpson and Stewie Griffin.

In the scene, Bart is teaching Stewie how to prank-call Moe's Tavern.

Over the years Bart's infamous prank calls have generally been G-rated and include gems such as:

Is there an Al there? First name Al, last name Coholic.

In this episode, after Bart has made his call to the Tavern Stewie jumps in and tries a far more off-colour line.

The Parents Television Council's Tim Winter said he was "troubled" by the joke.

"I was blown out of my shoes when I saw the scene with the rape joke in it," Mr Winter said.

Associated Press reported that a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network said they did not find the line offensive.

"I think the show is making it clear that rape is not funny by how they are positioning the joke," Katherine Hull Fliflet said. "It's my hope that would be the viewers' take-away."

Twentieth Century Fox, the studio which produces both programs, has not commented on the controversy.

Source: Uproxx