Looney Tunes’ Pepé Le Pew has officially been sacked from the upcoming sequel movie, Space Jam 2.
As reported by Deadline, the removal of Pepé Le Pew from the second instalment of Space Jam doesn’t actually come as a result of the essay from New York Times columnist, Charles M. Blow, who recently wrote a piece stating that “racism must be exorcised from culture, including, or maybe especially, from children’s culture.”
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According to Deadline, Pepé’s removal from screens and media must have been a long time coming, as Space Jam 2’s original director Terence Nance swapped over with Malcolm D. Lee a while ago now, and under the new direction Pepé Le Pew has not been seen in rough cuts since.
Further reported by Deadline, it was also confirmed that there was a “hybrid live-action animation scene between Jane the Virgin actress Greice Santo and Pepe Le Pew,” which was shot back in 2019.
Since receiving news that the Pepé scene has been cut from the film, Santo, who has experienced sexual assault, has reportedly criticised the move.
A spokesperson for Santo 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.
The spokesperson continued, “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.”
As reported by Deadline, the scene which has since been cut from the film was set in a black and white “Casablanca-like” setting. Pepé is playing the role of a bartender, while Santo is at the bar having a drink. Pepé allegedly begins hitting on her, not long before Santo slams him into the chair, pours a drink on her and slaps him hard.
Check out the first look from ‘Space Jam 2’, in which Pepé does not appear.
