Pepe Le Pew Cut From Space Jam 2

Space Jam 2 will be coming back soon and it seems one of the iconic characters from Looney Tunes and also the original movie won’t be coming back.

According to a report by Deadline, Pepe Le Pew was removed from Space Jam 2 entirely and will not be returning for the movie. It was said that the character being cut from the movie had nothing to do with a recent controversy surrounding him, which stated that the character ”added to rape culture.” 

It was revealed that Pepe Le Pew was cut quite a while ago when original director Terrence Nance left. His replacement, Malcolm D. Lee, cut out a scene that put the character inside the classic film Casablanca. It was further stated that the scene saw him hitting on a woman at the bar, played by Jane the Virgin’s Greice Santo.

He begins kissing her arm, which she pulls back, then slamming Pepe into the chair next to hers. She then pours her drink on Pepe, and slaps him hard, sending him spinning in a stool, which is then stopped by LeBron James’ hand. James and Bugs Bunny are looking for Lola, and Pepe knows her whereabouts. Pepe then tells the guys that Penelope cat has filed a restraining order against him. James makes a remark in the script that Pepe can’t grab other Tunes without their consent.

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A spokesperson for Greice Santo said that Santo was very upset at the scene being cut.

“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 statement reads. “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.” 

Space Jam 2 is expected to release on July 14th of this year in theatres and also on HBO Max. We will have to see how the film will turn out to be.