Pepe Le Pew Controversy Ignites Debate About ‘Looney Tunes’ Character

Looney Tunes character Pepé Le Pew is raising controversy on social media this weekend, although many users are tired of the debate. The New York Times published a column by Charles M. Blow this week about racism and bigotry in children’s media in general, including Pepé’s cartoons. While many people have heard this criticism before, others are reacting as if it’s the first time.

Blow’s column was about the prevalence of racist imagery and stereotypes in children’s media in general, going back to the early-20th century. It was written in response to Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ announcement that it would stop publishing six of his old books. Blow mentioned Pepé Le Pew off-handedly, but it became the center of the conversation later when he tweeted that “[right wing] blogs are mad” about the charge. Now, the whole issue is being re-litigated online, and many people on both sides of the issue are wondering how productive the conversation really is.

The idea that Pepé Le Pew promotes rape culture in his cartoons is far from new. The salacious skunk has been criticized for decades, yet every time the question comes up it is treated as a brand new revelation. Many social media users felt exhausted by its latest iteration, wondering how this could be up for debate.
Others thought that it was distracting any politically-minded people from discussing more pressing matters, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Many people tried to steer the conversation towards something more actionable, with mixed success.

These days, Pepé Le Pew is a rare sight in Looney Tunes productions, appearing with different motives if at all. Still, the conversation around his history rages on. Here is a look at what people are saying about Pepé Le Pew in 2021.

Old Argument

Many users pointed out that the Pepé Le Pew date is at least two decades old at this point. One of the most popular iterations of the problem was in Dave Chappelle’s 2000 stand-up special Killing Them Softly on HBO.

Unexpected

Of all the debates people expected to have online in 2021, re-hashing Pepé Le Pew caught many by surprise. The old bingo card meme format emerged again here as well.

Political Theater

Many critics argued that those discussing Le Pew are engaged in performative politics, when they should be more worried about the pressing issues of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession.

Counter-Arguments

The pro-Pepé arguments were generally consistent, claiming that the cartoon is harmless. Many also resisted criticizing them considering that they are old and are no longer being made.

Other Offenders

Some users shared other potentially offensive productions from the last few decades to fuel either side of the argument. This soon exceeded the realm of cartoons and tackled movies, sitcoms and just about every other corner of pop culture.

Recent

The most recent iterations of Pepé Le Pew were generally the most confusing for this weekend’s arguments. Many were not even aware of the changes in the skunk’s dynamic.

Absurd

Finally, many posts simply marveled at the absurdity of having a Pepé Le Pew debate at all in the year 2021. With so much more to worry about and so little new information to go on, the whole thing struck many as a bizarre distraction.