Hamilton Journal News

Reward offered for Pepe ‘Space Jam’ footage

Actress says scene corrects misbehavio­r.

- By Tracy Brown Los Angeles Times Greice Santo

Pepe Le Pew has been cut from the upcoming sequel “Space Jam: A New Legacy” — but could completed footage of his scene with actress Greice Santo exist?

A representa­tive for Santo believes it does and is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone that provides the footage of their hybrid animated/live-action exchange.

The scene in question involves the problemati­c animated skunk approachin­g the live-action character portrayed by Santo in a bar. She pushes Pepe away when he starts kissing her arm before she pours her drink on him. She eventually backhands the persistent skunk, which sends his barstool spinning before it is stopped by the film’s star, LeBron James.

Santo, who posted a playful Instagram shot of herself on set, told the Los Angeles Times that she was disappoint­ed to learn that the scene had been cut from the film. She said its message was meaningful to her as someone who has spoken out against sexual harassment.

“For me, it was so important to have this scene in a movie to inspire the younger generation­s, and also the older generation­s, so we can correct that behavior,” said Santo, who is best known for portraying the telenovela character Blanca in “Jane the Virgin.” “I felt that this scene was a way to show kids that this kind of behavior is wrong.”

Although Santo says she understand­s that things like this happen over the course of a production, she hopes the footage can be released in one way or another. And if it can’t, she says she will not be deterred from continuing her work for the cause.

According to Deadline, which first reported on the deleted scene, the sequence was cut before Pepe Le Pew came under renewed scrutiny, including a New York Times column that said the character “normalized rape culture.”

The report also says that Pepe was never animated for the liveaction footage that had been shot.

Warner Bros. declined to comment.

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