Pepe Le Pew Scene Was Cut From 'Space Jam: A New Legacy'

Pepe Le Pew, a skunk Looney Tunes character notorious for his sexually aggressive behavior, won't be making an appearance in the upcoming Space Jam sequel. Despite the scene already being filmed, the love-struck skunk is out.

The character, who was first introduced in 1945 and starred in the original 1996 Space Jam, will not appear in Space Jam: A New Legacy, and, likely, any other future Warner Bros. projects, Deadline has reported. A scene featuring the character filmed in June 2019 by Space Jam: A New Legacy's first director Terence Nance has also been cut.

Pepe Le Pew Won’t Be Appearing In Warner Bros’ ‘Space Jam’ Sequel https://t.co/HUK9kGM7l3

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 8, 2021

In the deleted scene that has not been animated, Pepe Le Pew was set to play a bartender in a Casablanca-like sequence. The skunk attempts to hit on a bar patron played by Greice Santo and starts kissing her arm, with Santo immediately pulling back, pouring her drink on Pepe and sending him spinning in a stool. LeBron James, who learns the location of Lola Bunny from the skunk, tells him that he can't grab others without their consent.

In Looney Tunes cartoons, Pepe Le Pew's storylines typically involve him being in pursuit of a striped female cat whom he mistakes for a skunk.

Last week, The New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow wrote that "Pepe Le Pew" normalized rape culture, sparking an online debate about the character. Several days later, Blow doubled down on his statement with a tweet. It appears that Blow's column had nothing to do with Pepe leaving the Space Jam cast, Deadline reported.

RW blogs are mad bc I said Pepe Le Pew added to rape culture. Let’s see.
1. He grabs/kisses a girl/stranger, repeatedly, w/o consent and against her will.
2. She struggles mightily to get away from him, but he won’t release her
3. He locks a door to prevent her from escaping. pic.twitter.com/CbLCldLwvR

— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 6, 2021

The news of Pepe being removed from the sequel follows a recent controversy surrounding the redesign of Lola Bunny in the upcoming movie that sparked debates and inspired memes.