Report: Pepé Le Pew faces backlash for 'normalizing rape culture;' won't be in Space Jam 2

(WKRC) -- A member of the well-known "Looney Tunes" crew, which features icons such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, reportedly won't be in the next big movie to feature the Warner Bros. characters.

Pepé Le Pew, a cartoon skunk who famously sports a French accent and a deep obsession for romance, has been recently accused of "normalizing rape culture" by a New York Times opinion piece writer.

A source has reportedly confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that "Pepé Le Pew will not be featured in Space Jam 2", as "the controversial Looney Tunes skunk cartoon character was scrubbed from the LeBron James starrer more than a year ago."

The character was featured in the previous "Space Jam" starring NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Pepé is famous for chasing around female characters, most commonly a black and white cat, and attempting to "woo" them with words and displays of affection. He's also famously aggressive and doesn't take rejection seriously.

In the iconic cartoons, the obvious gag is that Pepé is a skunk and stinks, and therefore his targets of affection flee from him because of this. Yet he is persistent and chases them throughout the cartoon. Another gag from the cartoon is that Pepé believes the black and white cat (named "Penelope" in some instances) to be a skunk herself, thus his infatuation. Get it?

Anyways, flash forward from the 1940s to now and NYT's Charles M. Blow brought up Pepé Le Pew in an opinion article spurred by the recent controversy surrounding "canceling" certain Dr. Suess books and named the skunk as one of many "problematic characters" in American animation history.

"Some of the first cartoons I can remember included Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a heavyset Black maid who spoke in a heavy accent." wrote NYT's Charles M. Blow.

The Hollywood Reporters says that it is unclear if the cartoon character will be retired completely, but Deadline did report that a scene from Space Jam 2 featuring the skunk has been cut.

Here's Deadline's description of the scene:

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 [Greice] 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."

Deadline also reported that actress Greice Santo was upset at the news the scene was cut, herself an outspoken victim of sexual harassment.

"Santo took joy in shooting the Space Jam sequel scene with Pepe because the skunk finally gets his comeuppance," reported Deadline.

Space Jam 2 is set to release on July 16, 2021.