Steve Harvey called out after fans were disgusted by controversial jokes on 'Celebrity Family Feud'
Aug. 22 2025, Published 9:45 a.m. ET
It was an epic showdown between the famous trans actress from "Orange is the New Black," Laverne Cox, and DJ Diplo's team on "Celebrity Family Feud" recently. Cox was on the game show along with Mila Jam, Joslyn De Freece, singer Peppermint, and TV personality Ts Madison. The all-trans team was playing to support Madison's charitable cause for sex workers: Starter House. The charity describes itself as "an innovative housing initiative designed to support and empower black trans women engaged in sex work" on its website. However, despite winning $25,000, the team went viral for their NSFW comments. Since then, fans have criticized the episode, which has caused controversy for the show's producers and presenter, Steve Harvey, per National Enquirer.
“The show has been under fire for years for pushing boundaries, but this is one of the most controversial scenarios they’ve had in a long time,” an insider explained. During the show, Harvey was left dumbfounded by the sexual innuendos casually dropped by Cox's team. At one point, the seasoned host candidly joked about whether he could call Ts with her last name. “Of course. Listen, I take it short or long,” she calmly mentioned. Harvey was left stunned. Another remark made him squirm, “Steve Harvey, it’s okay to free ball, we’re free balling today,” Ts said, talking about men not wearing underpants. That's when Cox cut in, saying, "Some of us are without the ‘B’ word, so some of us are free, and some of us have set them free."
Harvey was left red-faced. However, the vulgar jokes were disliked by viewers, who immediately condemned the show for using them on a family show. "The freeballing jokes/innuendos from the trans family feud was CRINGE ASF!!! bring back shame," @FatassBeaArthur criticized on X. Podcaster Chad Prather tweeted, "Celebrity Family Feud features all trans team that is raising money for black prostitutes. Survey Says........Show cancellation coming soon." "Disgusting. Used to be a family-friendly show. Cancel Family Feud," @pizzo97308 chimed in. "How utterly disgusting! I would ask you, are you kidding me? But I'm not surprised by anything anymore," @MarcieAnde59695 slammed.
This is not all, as fans now believe that Harvey is in hand with the makers to get publicity. “Even Steve is getting caught in the crossfire, and he’s used to being the jovial guy who everyone likes, but not anymore. People are accusing him of pandering to the contestants, no matter how over the top and inappropriate they get,” an insider revealed. "First two questions relate to sex or some other vulgar thing. Steve mugs for the camera, telling some joke, acting like he's doing one of his stand-up shows. Show basically asks the same question over and over and over again. Families are getting super obnoxious and playing for the camera," a frustrated viewer vented on u/Gold_Comfort156 on Reddit.
"I swear the writers are going to run out of ideas for ways to describe having sex soon," u/VinylmationDude added to one of the many reactions about the makers ruining the show. “There’s an inquest going on with people asking how it happened in the first place and what they’re going to do going forward to avoid these catastrophes," the insider concluded while also suggesting that the makers need to clean their act soon.
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