NYT Columnist Defends Criticism That Pepe Le Pew ‘Added to Rape Culture’

NYT columnist Charles M. Blow, who also criticized Dr. Seuss, defended his comments about Looney Tumes' character Pepe Le Pew following right-wing backlash.

March 6, 2021

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow is defending comments he made about the Looney Tunes character Pepe Le Pew in a column published this week following right-wing backlash.

In his Wednesday piece, titled “Six Seuss Books Bore a Bias,” Blow references Le Pew in a series of comments about problematic cartoon characters before blasting six of Dr. Seuss’ books for their racist content. Blow writes that the skunk, made famous for his aggressive quest for love from Penelope Pussycat, “normalized rape culture.”

Following conservative backlash to the article with the usual cries about “cancel culture,” Blow went on Twitter to expand on his Pepe dig.

“RW blogs are mad bc I said Pepe Le Pew added to rape culture,” he tweeted. “Let’s see. 1. He grabs/kisses a girl/stranger, repeatedly, w/o consent and against her will. 2. She struggles mightily to get away from him, but he won’t release her 3. He locks a door to prevent her from escaping.”

Blow added that the character was indicative to young boys that non-consensual behavior towards women is simply “part of the game."

He’s not the first to make this point. As TMZ recalls, Dave Chappelle once called Pepe Le Pew a rapist in his Killin’ Them Softlyspecial.

Some quickly sided with Blow, while others criticized the author for “reaching.” Check out some of the reactions below.