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The Internet’s Freaking Out Over Pepé Le Pew Being Cut From Space Jam: A New Legacy

Space Jam: A New Legacy finally arrives this summer, bringing all your favorite Looney Tunes characters with it - apart from one. Yes, it's been confirmed that Pepé Le Pew will not be showing up in the belated sequel. This news arrives in the wake of a recent New York Times op-ed which blasted the cartoon skunk as perpetuating "rape culture." It's important to note, though, that Le Pew's scene was removed from the movie long before this much-discussed article came out.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Space Jam: A New Legacy finally arrives this summer, bringing all your favorite Looney Tunes characters with it – apart from one. Yes, it’s been confirmed that Pepé Le Pew will not be showing up in the belated sequel. This news arrives in the wake of a recent New York Times op-ed which blasted the cartoon skunk as perpetuating “rape culture.” It’s important to note, though, that Le Pew’s scene was removed from the movie long before this much-discussed article came out.

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That hasn’t stopped the internet from getting up in arms over Pepé being “cancelled,” though. The French-accented rodent, known for passionately pursuing a cat named Penelope that he believes is a skunk, debuted way back in 1945, but Warner Bros. has now confirmed that they have no plans to feature the character in any future projects and it’s likely he’s going to be retired for good.

Twitter is full of people’s views on the fate of Pepé, which as you’d expect is becoming tied into a wider discussion about cancel culture. For starters, many cartoon lovers feel bad for the loved-up animal.

#IStandWithPepe is not a hashtag we expected to see become a thing.

Deadline, who broke the news about Pepé, detailed his New Legacy deleted scene. It would’ve seen the skunk hitting on a live-action bar patron who slaps him away. LeBron James would then have told Le Pew that he can’t grab people without their consent, with Pepé admitting that he knows that as Penelope has taken out a restraining order against him. It seems like an odd scene, truth be told, but some people think it sounds “pretty awesome.”

Alternatively, others aren’t so much on Pepé’s side and feel his cancellation is long overdue.

A lot of folks, meanwhile, are just seeing the funny side of the situation.

https://twitter.com/MistyGComics/status/1368906371333316609

Hot take: did anyone actually like Pepé Le Pew before this scandal?

Real life is weird sometimes.

https://twitter.com/WOETUS/status/1368980746220810244

And here are a few more reactions, just for good measure:

https://twitter.com/kendaIIR0Y/status/1369022452035031040

Space Jam: A New Legacy premieres this July 16th, releasing simultaneously in both theaters and on HBO Max.

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