Seth MacFarlane joked about Kevin Spacey too

Seth MacFarlane was forced to explain his 2013 Weinstein joke. Photo / Getty Images

When news broke last month of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's alleged string of sexual harassment incidents, keen-eyed Hollywood watchers picked up on a pattern of jokes about Weinstein over the years that suggested his behaviour was an industry open secret.

Front and centre was Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who made an off-colour joke about Weinstein at a 2013 event to announce the nominees for that year's Academy Awards.

In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, the spotlight now shines on Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, who came out yesterday after actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Spacey had groped him at a party more than 30 years ago, when Rapp was just 14, reports News.com.au.

And once again, an unearthed Seth MacFarlane joke that appeared to predict the scandal is doing the rounds on social media.

A brief, 2005 clip from MacFarlane's cartoon series Family Guy shows infant character Stewie Griffin running through a shopping centre while screaming: "Help! I've escaped from Kevin Spacey's basement! Help me!"

Actor Anthony Rapp has gone public with an allegation of sexual misconduct by Kevin Spacey. Photo / Getty Images

MacFarlane was forced to explain his 2013 Weinstein joke when it went viral last month.

Announcing the best supporting actress nominees for that year's Oscars, he assured the actresses that they would "no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein".

In an emotional Twitter post, MacFarlane revealed that his gag was a way of standing up to the Hollywood heavyweight, who had allegedly sexually harassed his friend and co-star Jessica Barth.

Family Guy with the Kevin Spacey reference twelve years ago... creepy. pic.twitter.com/bVbEOLlAwz

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) October 30, 2017

MacFarlane claims that Barth, who co-starred in his Ted movies and had a role on Family Guy, had told him about her horrifying experience with Weinstein in 2011.

"It was with this account in mind that, when I hosted the Oscars in 2013, I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a hard swing in his [Weinstein's] direction," he tweeted.

"Make no mistake, this came from a place of loathing and anger. There is nothing more abhorrent and indefensible than abuse of power such as this."