The cancel culture mob is back at it again, this time they have their sights set on classic cartoon characters such as Pepe Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales. This comes on the heels of the much-anticipated movie “Space Jam 2” featuring well-known Warner Brothers cartoon characters and NBA Basketball Players. The original Space Jam featured Michael Jordan and other players and the “sequel” will feature LeBron James with other players. The very-small “woke” parts of society, however, may dictate the direction of the sequel beyond what the actual directors originally intended.
New York Times columnist Charles Blow wrote a piece about Pepe Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales in anticipation of the upcoming Space Jam movie. In the piece, Blow says that Pepe Le Pew perpetuates rape culture. He even hopped on Twitter and showed an example of a scene where he was overly aggressive toward the cat who was accidentally painted as a skunk. Other Twitter users chimed in with either their displeasure or their scoffing at how ridiculous it was to get offended at a small thing like that. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Pepe LePew’s scene from Space Jam 2 had (already) been cut, and that he would not appear in any future Warner Brothers-related work.
Charles Blow also raised a “stink” (pun intended) about another classic children’s cartoon character in Speedy Gonzales. Blow said the Mexican mouse perpetuated stereotypes of the “drunk and lethargic Mexican”. But in reality, most Mexicans love the Speedy Gonzales character. There was an attempt to cancel Speedy back in the 90s, to which hundreds if not thousand of Mexicans protested with an influx of letters demanding that the character remain. Mexican-American actor Gabriel Iglesias aka “Fluffy” will voice Speedy Gonzales in “Space Jam 2” and he responded to the controversy on Twitter with the following:
These classic cartoons and books (including Dr. Seuss) are classic for a reason. They are timeless pieces of art that help educate and socialize children with positive reinforcement and humor. It’s sad when 50-year-old men like Charles Blow find any and everything to get offended over just for clicks and views on places like New York Times. But such is the world in which we live when wholesome entertainment is sacrificed for attention just so non-wholesome entertainment can slide in and be what helps develop the next generation of children.
SOURCES:
Pepe Le Pew Won’t Appear In Any Upcoming Warner Bros. Projects
Space Jam 2’s Gabriel Iglesias Responds to Speedy Gonzales Controversy
New York Times columnist argues Pepe Le Pew perpetuates rape culture, says it ‘helped teach boys that ‘no’ didn’t really mean no’
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