Pepe Le Pew Cut From 'Space Jams' Sequel For Promoting Rape Culture

While fans of the classic film “Space Jam” are preparing to see their favorite “Looney Tunes” characters in the LeBron James reboot, the love-struck snunk Pepe Le Pew will not be featured.

The skunk, which has been apart of the "Looney Tunes" gang since 1945, will not be making his debut in “Space Jam: A New Legacy” on July 16 on HBO Max due to concerns over the character's aggressive romantic advances.

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow expressed his concerns with the character and added that he exemplifies the “rape culture” that has been targeted by the #metoo movement.

Pepe Le Pew’s scene that was going to be in the new live-action film included “Jane the Virgin” actress Greice Santo as a patron at a bar with Pepe serving as the bartender. He flirts and preys and eventually gets physical and starts kissing her arm. Santo slams him into a chair, throws her drink on him and then slaps him, according to Deadline.

Later in the scene, it’s brought to light that Penelope, the cat that is a frequent target of the skunk's advances, has a restraining order against him for all the inappropriate behavior he portrayed over the years. All references to Pepe have been removed from the film.

The first director of the film, Terence Nance, shot the scene in July 2019, but left the production shortly after and Malcolm D. Lee took over. Lee is also the one who ultimately decided to cut Pepe.

When the news reached Santo that the scene was cut, she was upset because, as a former victim of sexual assault, she liked the concept of her confronting the animated skunk.

“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,” her spokesperson told Deadline.

The sequel to Michael Jordan's 1997 classic has drawn interest from viewers who want to see James interact with the "Looney Tunes" gang. It is still on schedule for a July 16 release date.