LeBron James' 'Space Jam' Sequel Will Not Feature Pepe Le Pew - Here's Why
Pepe Le Pew is not going to be included in Warner Bros new Space Jam sequel.
Deadline reports that the Looney Tunes character will not appear in the new sequel to the 1996 film, Space Jam: A New Legacy starring Lebron James.
The decision comes after New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow slammed the French skunk for perpetuating rape culture in a column about racial bias in Dr. Suess’ books.
He defended the statement on Twitter, writing, “RW blogs are mad bc I said Pepe Le Pew added to rape culture. Let’s see. 1. He grabs/kisses a girl/stranger, repeatedly, w/o consent and against her will. 2. She struggles mightily to get away from him, but he won’t release her 3. He locks a door to prevent her from escaping.”
A specific scene has been cut from the movie after the controversy, which featured a Casablanca-inspired cafe sequence where Jane the Virgin actress Greice Santo slapped Pepe across the face after he kissed her arm. Lebron then tells Pepe he can’t grab other Tunes without their consent.
Greice was reportedly upset that the scene had been cut from the film. A spokesperson for Greice said, “This was such a big deal for Greice to be in this movie. Even though Pepe is a cartoon character, if anyone was going to slap a sexual harasser like him, Greice wished it would be her. Now the scene is cut, and she doesn’t have that power to influence the world through younger generations who’ll be watching Space Jam 2, to let younger girls and younger boys know that Pepe’s behavior is unacceptable.”
Last week it was revealed another Looney Tunes character would be getting a major revamp for the sequel.