Another day, another celeb being canceled.
Only this time, the culprit isn't human. Nope, there are people trying to cancel two animated characters: Pepe Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales from the beloved classic, Looney Tunes.
Is the world going looney or is this justified? Keep reading to find out where the backlash is coming from.
The affected books are as follows: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families," they continued.
This is New York Times columnist, Charles M. Bow, who wrote that he "cheered as some bemoaned another victim of so-called 'cancel culture.'"
He also shared that "racism must be exorcised from culture, including, or maybe especially, from children's culture."
In his piece, he also called out other cartoon characters:
"Some of the first cartoons I can remember included Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans."
Speedy Gonzales, on the other hand, is a Mexican character who's known as the fastest mouse.
Since Bow's piece came out, he's had a lot of people agree with his statements.
"On the other hand, it's a little disturbing now that back then nobody minded how racist Speedy Gonzales was. Like, almost by definition, it's a racist cartoon," they added.
The comedian took to Twitter to set the record straight.
"I am the voice of Speedy Gonzales in the new Space Jam. Does this mean they are gonna try to cancel Fluffy too?" Iglesias tweeted, alongside an animated GIF of the mouse.
Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn, also chimed in on defense of the cartoon mouse.
"I don't think there are many people here, on the left or the right, who think Harvey Weinstein shouldn't have been 'canceled' for what he did," he tweeted.
"I think most Latin people love Speedy Gonzalez [sic], which is a pretty good argument that he shouldn't be 'canceled.'"
Speedy also has lots of support from fans online.
"do not speak for me, I am Mexican, and Speedy Gonzalez is a character too dear to my people, speedy Gonzáles makes us proud, and if you want to cancel it, maybe you are the racist," tweeted this user.
The character's scene from the film has already been cut from the film.
He had starred in the first Warner Bros. Space Jam movie in 1996.
Space Jam: A New Legacy arrives in theaters and on HBO Max July 16, so there is still time for more changes to be made if people call for it.
The hashtag is #CancelACartoon which is calling out, what fans feel, is the ridiculous trend that is going on right now.
Whether you disagree with Pepe or Speedy or not, the new tweets are pretty funny.
We can always count on Twitter to deliver some amazing memes right after a controversy.
Do you think it's overkill? Or do you think it is deserved?
Either way, let us know in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you.
