Dave Chappelle Calling Out Pepe Le Pew In Standup Special Resurfaces Amid 'Space Jam 2' Removal

It was recently revealed that a scene featuring Pepe Le Pew was cut from the forthcoming film.

A clip of Dave Chappelle calling out Pepe Le Pew during an old standup special resurfaced on social media recently amid the character's removal from the forthcoming Space Jam 2 film.

As Uproxx pointed out, fans of the comedian have shared a clip from his 2000 special Killin' Them Softly, where he addressed the problematic Looney Tunes character.

"You ever watch a cartoon you used to watch when you were little as an adult? S**t is wild s**t," Chappelle begins. "Like, I was with my nephew, sitting there watching Pepe Le Pew, and I said, 'Now, pay attention to this guy because he’s funny. I used to watch him when I was little.' And we’re watching Pepe Le Pew, and… 'Good god, what kind of f**king rapist is this guy? Take it easy, Pepe!'"

News of Pepe being removed from the upcoming Space Jam sequel came about earlier this week, when Deadline reported that a scene featuring the skunk that was shot back in 2019 wouldn't be appearing in the movie. The character has also faced recent criticism; in a column written by the New York Times' Charles M. Blow, the writer said that Pepe "normalized rape culture," and spoke further about how the character perpetuated that culture on Twitter after facing right-wing backlash for the op-ed.

"This helped teach boys that 'no' didn’t really mean no, that it was a part of 'the game,' the starting line of a power struggle," Blow tweeted. "It taught overcoming a woman’s strenuous, even physical objections, was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK."