The once-beloved game show Celebrity Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey and aired on Disney-owned ABC, is under heavy fire after its July 31 episode featured the show’s first-ever all-transgender team. Viewers were left shocked — not only by the team’s lewd humor, but also by the cause they were supporting: a nonprofit that helps recently incarcerated black transgender sex workers re-enter society.
The team, led by Orange Is the New Black actress and outspoken progressive activist Laverne Cox, included entertainers Mila Jam, Joslyn De Freece, TS Madison, and Peppermint. They competed to raise money for TS Madison’s nonprofit organization, the TS Madison Starter House, which specifically supports black transgender individuals who have been involved in the sex trade and recently released from prison.
According to the organization’s own description, the Starter House is “an innovative housing initiative designed to support and empower Black trans women engaged in sex work.” During the broadcast, Madison referred to it as a “re-entry house for system-impacted trans women,” a euphemistic phrase that critics say downplays the criminal justice and sex work elements at play.
Despite the controversial nature of the cause, the team ultimately won $25,000 for the nonprofit. But the episode quickly devolved into something more resembling a late-night comedy show than a family-oriented game program.
Throughout the segment, the contestants made a series of overtly sexual jokes that left host Steve Harvey visibly uncomfortable. In one moment, Harvey asked Madison if he could refer to her as “TS,” to which Madison quipped, “Of course. Listen, I take it short or long.” The crude innuendo was just the beginning. Madison later remarked, “Steve Harvey, it’s okay to free ball — we’re free balling today,” a slang reference to not wearing underwear. The comment drew an audible reaction from the audience and an expression of stunned disbelief from Harvey.
Cox chimed in with her own sexually explicit remark, stating, “Some of us are without the ‘B’ word, so some of us are free, and some of us have set them free,” a not-so-subtle reference to surgical castration. Madison then added, “Mine is called Chucky,” sending the entire segment further into uncharted territory for a prime-time family show.
Social media erupted. Critics, many of whom had been longtime fans of the show, accused Family Feud and Disney of pushing a hypersexualized and overtly political agenda onto viewers. One user on X wrote, “The freeballing jokes/innuendos from the trans family were CRINGE ASF!!! Bring back shame.” Another added, “Celebrity Family Feud features an all-trans team that is raising money for black prostitutes. Survey says… show cancellation coming soon.” Many questioned how this type of content passed Disney’s standards for broadcast.
Another viewer directly addressed Steve Harvey, calling the episode “the most disappointing Family Feud ever,” adding, “Not interested in the show any longer with these types of candidates.”
The backlash highlights growing concerns among conservative audiences about the leftward shift of mainstream media, particularly when it comes to programming aimed at general or family audiences. While Disney has not publicly commented on the controversy, the silence hasn’t gone unnoticed by critics, who say the entertainment giant has repeatedly prioritized progressive virtue signaling over family-friendly values.
This isn’t the first time Laverne Cox has drawn criticism — even from her own side. Just weeks before the Family Feud taping, Cox caused a stir among her progressive fanbase after revealing she once dated a Trump-supporting, 26-year-old NYPD officer who was 22 years her junior. “He is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed MAGA Republican voter who is a New York City police officer,” Cox explained in a promotional video for her upcoming one-woman show. While she insisted she didn’t adopt his conservative views, the revelation enraged her audience, who felt betrayed by her choice to date someone with right-wing beliefs.
Cox’s personal life may be her own business, but the appearance of her all-trans team on a network TV game show — complete with vulgarity and advocacy for sex worker-related causes — is a step into public depravity. Hollywood continues to push fringe ideologies into the mainstream under the guise of inclusion and diversity, even at the expense of common decency and traditional family values.
