Pepé Le Pew Skunked by Warner Bros., Looney Tunes Character Dropped from Upcoming Projects
By Movieguide® Staff
Warner Bros. dropped Pepe Le Pew, the Looney Tunes’ cartoon skunk, from several upcoming television projects and the studio’s sequel to the animated and live-action classic, SPACE JAM.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Pepé Le Pew in any upcoming is not featured in any current Warner Bros. TV projects and there are no current plans for the controversial cartoon skunk to return.”
Looney Tunes introduced Pepé Le Pew in 1945 as a French skunk who was often on the quest for love, which many say were accompanied by forceful advances. Looney Tunes icon Mel Blanc was the original voice of Pepé Le Pew.
Although the studio announced the SPACE JAM 2 lineup change almost one year ago, a New York Times op-ed renewed the controversy. The op-ed titled “Six Seuss Books Bore Bias,” accused the skunk of having “normalized rape culture” and also discusses Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ decision to stop publishing six of the late author’s books.
“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,” columnist Charles M. Blow wrote.
He concluded: “Racism must be exorcised from culture, including, or maybe especially, from children’s culture. Teaching a child to hate or be ashamed of themselves is a sin against their innocence and a weight against their possibilities.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Movieguide® believes that God’s Word should be the lens through which every movie is evaluated. Unfortunately, the new model that many studios have adopted neglects a large portion of immoral and anti-Christian content.
When the only signifier of morality is based on someone’s skin tone or gender, it becomes easy to push the boundaries of immorality in movies and television under the guise of tolerance and inclusion.
Read Also: Liberals Cancel Dr. Seuss, a Liberal who Championed Civil Rights
