Space Jam: A New Legacy will no longer cast Pepe Le Pew, robbing fans of the chance to see a filmed scene where the handsy skunk learns an important lesson about consent.
Pepe Le Pew's announced cut from the Warner Bros. film came in the wake of a The New York Times article discussing the cartoon character's perpetuation of rape culture, as reported by Deadline. However, the decision to cut the French skunk -- and his consent scene with a woman at a cafe (Greice Santo) -- was made when Space Jam 2 changed directors in 2019.
Although the aforementioned consent scene won't be released as a part of current director Malcolm D. Lee's vision for the film, a description of the scene was released. The French skunk would have appeared in "a black-and-white Casablanca-like Rick’s Cafe sequence." Pepe is a bartender who "starts hitting on a woman (Santo) at the bar." Pepe uses his typical arm-kiss move, without asking for consent first, leading the woman to pull back her arm and "slam Pepe into the chair next to hers." The woman then splashes her drink on Pepe and "slaps him so hard that his chair spins around until it's stopped by LeBron James' hand."
The source added, "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 then informs Pepe that "[he] can’t grab other Tunes without their consent."
Upon hearing that her scene was cut from the Space Jam sequel, Santo's representative stated, "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."
The official synopsis for Space Jam: A New Legacy reads,
During a trip to the Warner Bros. studio, NBA Superstar LeBron James and his son accidentally get trapped within a world that contains all of Warner Bros.' stories and characters, under the control of a malfunctioning, all-powerful force named Al G. With the help of Bugs Bunny, LeBron must navigate through a never-before-imagined world filled with iconic movie scenes and characters as they re-assemble the Looney Tunes to rescue his lost son. Now to get back home, Lebron and the Tunes have to unravel Al G's mysterious plan and win an epic basketball game against digital gamified super-versions of the NBA and WNBA's biggest stars as the entire world watches.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, Space Jam: A New Legacy stars LeBron James, Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max July 16.
Source: Deadline
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