Pepé Le Pew (bottom, third from right) inSpace Jam(1996).Photo: Everett
Pepé Le Pew will reportedly not be making an appearance inSpace Jam: A New Legacy.
TheLeBron James-fronted animated/live-action-combo sequel to 1996’sSpace Jam, that starredMichael Jordan, will not see the return of the love-obsessed French skunk, known for his incessant pursuit of fellowLooney Tunescharacter Penelope Pussycat.
According to multiple outlets, includingDeadlineandThe Hollywood Reporter, Pepé Le Pew was scrapped from the film after initially being written into the storyline over a year ago. Deadline reports that a scene between the skunk andJane the Virgin’s Greice Santo didn’t make it into the final cut of the film.
“This was such a big deal for Greice to be in this movie,” her spokesperson told Deadline. “Even though Pepé is a cartoon character, if anyone was going to slap asexual harasserlike him, Greice wished it would be her.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat.Warner Bros.
The spokesperson continued, “Now the scene is cut, and she doesn’t have that power to influence the world through younger generationswho’ll be watchingSpace Jam 2,to let younger girls and younger boys know that Pepé’s behavior is unacceptable.”
Warner Bros. has not commented publicly on the reasoning behind Pepé Le Pew’s reported absence from the film.
The news comes afterNew York Timescolumnist Charles M. Blow wrote ina Wednesday opinion piecethat he believes the character, first introduced in 1945, “normalized rape culture.”
Aftersharing a clipfeaturing Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat from an oldLooney Tunescartoon, Blow wrote on Twitter Friday that he believes the images “helped teach boys that ‘no’ didn’t really mean no, that it was a part of ‘the game,’ the starting line of a power struggle.”
“Ittaught overcoming a woman’sstrenuous, even physical objections, was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK,” he added.
RELATED VIDEO: Why Don Cheadle Couldn’t Turn Down a Role inSpace JamSequel: The Original Was “So Iconic”
Pepé Le Pew’s absence from the new film may, for many fans, echo a decision made last yearto eliminate Elmer Fudd’s signature weaponin HBO Max’s reboot,Looney TunesCartoons.
“We’re not doing guns,” executive producer Peter Browngardt toldThe New York Timesin June. “But, we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”
“We’re going through this wave of anti-bullying, everybody needs to be friends, everybody needs to get along,” Browngardt added. “Looney Tunesis pretty much the antithesis of that. It’s two characters in conflict, sometimes getting pretty violent.”
Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to hit theaters and HBO Max on July 16.
source: people.com
