post #249502

A Looney Tunes character, Pepé le Pew is a male skunk with a stereotypical French accent, who gives off an awful stench at all times. Created by animator Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese, his cartoons generally consist of him discovering Penelope Pussycat, a black cat, just after she has accidentally had a white stripe painted down her back, and confusing her for a female skunk in a relentlessly chase. Through the setting of his cartoons, Le Pew attempted to force his kisses on the cat, completely oblivious to her discomfort with his scent.

Since debuting in 1945, this suave ladies' man of a skunk has caused debate among modern viewers. Much of this reputation has been unpopular by some in the post-#MeToo era, believing that he displayed behaviours attributed to a stalker or sexual predator. However, such reading may have been contrary, as three of his cartoons – For Scent-imental Reasons, Little Beau Pepé, and Really Scent – subverted the dynamic of Pepé and Penelope by switching the love of the two.

In 2021, his planned appearance in the Space Jam sequel, A New Legacy, was scrapped as a result of this alleged behaviour. This caught the attention of social media, bringing into the debate of wether or not if he was insensitive. Nevertheless – even if Warner Bros. had stopped planning on putting the character in all future Looney Tunes media until further notice (as of 2021) – Pepé Le Pew did appear once in an episode of the recent Animaniacs series, months after the controversy.

As is often the fate of seemingly all anthropomorphic characters, he is a common sight in Furry porn.
_{(because why not?)}

See also

• Fifi la Fume, Pepe's Tiny Toon Adventures protégé.