Pepe Le Pew Will Not Be Appearing in Warner Bros. Sequel SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY
It has been announced that the Looney Tunes character Pepe Le Pew will not be included in the Warner Bros. sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy. The character was featured in the original film, but he stinks a little more these days after someone called him out on his bad behavior.
New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow recently slammed the cartoon character, saying he “added to rape culture,” and WB confirmed via Deadline that “a hybrid live-action animation scene between Jane the Virgin actress Greice Santo and Pepe Le Pew, shot back in June 2019 for Space Jam 2, was left on the cutting room floor.”
The report continued, “Warner Bros. also has no current TV series featuring the skunk and there are no plans to have him appear on Looney Toons, Bugs Bunny Builders, Tiny Toons Looniversary or future projects.”
The scene that was cut was described as follows:
Pepe was set to appear in a black-and-white Casablanca-like Rick’s Cafe sequence. Pepe, playing a bartender, starts hitting on a woman at the bar played by Santo. He begins kissing her arm, which she pulls back, then slamming Pepe into the chair next to hers. She then pours her drink on Pepe, and slaps him hard, sending him spinning in a stool, which is then stopped by LeBron James’ hand. James and Bugs Bunny are looking for Lola, and Pepe knows her whereabouts. Pepe then tells the guys that Penelope cat has filed a restraining order against him. James makes a remark in the script that Pepe can’t grab other Tunes without their consent.
Santo’s spokesperson said the actress and advocate for women was upset upon hearing the scene was cut, and felt that it depicted the character getting what he deserved.
I honestly don’t really care about whether or not Pepe Le Pew is in this movie or any future cartoons. He did set a bad example of teaching our kids that “no means no” and that we should have respect for others. I’m deeply sorry to anyone whose world is rocked by the absence of Pepe Le Pew, and I hope you have help getting through this difficult time.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to be released on July 16th, 2021. Are you looking forward to it?