For every case of say, Apu getting removed from the Simpsons because people can't take a joke anymore, there's also cases of characters that just had their time in the sun, were popular in a certain era, and have outlived their comedic potential, 80 years later.
Pepe le Pew's entire character was fawning over a cat and never taking no for an answer. Given the current climate of the world, the huge upheaval going on right now over men doing similar things decades ago and getting away with it, and how much of a hot-button topic it is...I really don't find it to be much of a problem removing his scenes.
Saying the character "added to rape culture" is a bit over the top though--the moral of the story was USUALLY that Pepe le Pew gets slapstick'd, beaten up, etc by the end of the short. His obsessive behavior is just an avenue for the comedy to work around. Even so, there are a handful of episodes that just...end with him capturing the cat, the cat looking horrified...fade to black. Um... yikes? His actions are never condoned--always seen as awful, but is it really that funny anymore?
I can easily see them not wanting that kind of joke in a movie coming out right now. And really, guys, was he even remotely a major character in Space Jam 1? We're not losing much of value here. If it were Bugs or Daffy, then yeah riot, but he's like a D-list Looney Tune.
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Psionic Roshambo:
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BigOnYa:
