For a cartoon sequel that’s about Looney Tunes characters playing basketball with LeBron James, Space Jam: A New Legacy has managed to kick up a surprising amount of controversy over the past few days. While the first “scandal” was a little more tongue in cheek as people reacted to Lola Bunny being “less sexualized” than her, uh, curvy ’90s look, social media erupted over reports that Pepé Le Pew had been pulled from the sequel. The news hit shortly after an op-ed in the New York Times that called out the cartoon skunk for perpetuating rape culture. However, the two events were actually unrelated. Director Malcolm Lee had already cut Pepé from the Space Jam sequel months ago. Of course, by then, conservatives had latched onto the controversy as yet another example of “cancel culture” run amok, and added it to their list of things to constantly rail about, which now includes The Muppets, Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss, and Star Wars.
Enter James Gunn, who was actually “canceled” when Disney fired him from the third Guardians of the Galaxy film after Trump supporters dug up old tweets where he made a series of tasteless jokes that he already apologized for years earlier. But despite that experience, Gunn still thinks the term “cancel culture” is blown out of proportion and that having discussion about topics like Pepe Le Pew is a good thing.
“Stop calling everything ‘cancel culture’ because you’re too dim to have a nuanced opinion,” Gunn tweeted. “People can be offended by something, or think something sucks, and that’s not ‘cancel culture’ – it’s free speech.”
Gunn later expanded his thoughts to everything from Harvey Weinsten to Speedy Gonzales and even touched on being “canceled” himself. You can see the full thread below:
To all of those writing me about the times people get unfairly attacked – yes, that sucks! But that doesn’t mean every time someone is offended by something it’s “cancel culture.” Calling EVERYTHING that is a knee-jerk response that destroys your point.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 7, 2021
Likewise, these are all nuanced conversations. I think most Latin people love Speedy Gonzalez, which is a pretty good argument that he shouldn’t be “canceled”. But Pepe le Pew, to me at least, is offensive because of the way he treats that cat.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 7, 2021
Likewise, I sometimes see celebrities getting attacked on here for something minor or nonexistent & I think it’s unfair. Other times I see celebrities getting attacked for shit that’s nearly unforgivable, or at least makes me not want to watch their movies. It’s nuanced.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 7, 2021
And for all of you out there (I see you) saying, “What about people who try to cancel you?! Do they have the right to do that?!”
OF COURSE THEY DO. And I will fight for their right to do so. I may not agree with their opinions but I believe deeply in their right to free speech.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 7, 2021
(Via James Gunn on Twitter)