the writing and photography of Neil Kramer

Fans Shocked at Bugs Bunny Gay Revelation

NEW YORK (AP) — Only a week after the announcement that the character in the Harry Potter series is gay, the fictional world is again shocked with the revelation by Steven Blanc, son of voice artist Mel Blanc, that the perennial prankster “Bugs” Bunny of Looney Tunes cartoons is also gay. This announcement, while unexpected, give new and clearer meaning to many of the on-screen exchanges between the smart-aleck “wacky wabbit” and his put-upon nemesis, Elmer Fudd.

Bugs Bunny was in love with his male rival, Steven Blanc says.

The author of “Bugs and Elmer: A Forbidden Love,” stunned fans at the Academy of Motion Pictures annual Warner Brothers Looney Tunes Night, when he answered one young reader’s question about Bugs by saying that he was gay and had been in love with Elmer Fudd for years.

‘”You have to remember that this was Hollywood of the Golden Age, even before Rock Hudson. The studio just wouldn’t allow it. Instead, Bugs and Elmer expressed their love for each using homosexual codes of the day, such as Elmer pointing a gun at Bugs, and Bugs responding with a squirt of seltzer in his face. Those in the closeted gay community clearly knew that Bugs famous “What’s Up, Doc?” was the password to get entry into the notorious Hammer Club on the Sunset Strip.”

The news of Bugs Bunny’s homosexuality brought gasps, then applause at the Academy, and set off thousands of e-mails on Warner Brothers cartoon Web sites around the world. Some were dismayed, others indifferent, but most were supportive.

” ‘BUGS BUNNY IS GAY’ is quite a headline to stumble upon on a Friday evening, and it’s certainly not what I expected,” added Looney Tunes fan Charlie Johnson, of Trenton, New Jersey. “(But) a gay character in the most popular cartoon in the world is a big step for gay rights.”

Note, November 2010:  This is not true.  It is a joke.  This was NOT approved by Warner Brothers.   And Mel’s son’s real name is Noel.  And just so you know — Bugs Bunny is probably my biggest literary influence.

60 Comments

  1. OMSH

    My eyes! They rolled so hard they fell right outta mah face!

  2. Rach

    Is that why he shakes his cute little white furry ass in all the cartoons?

  3. Geeky Tai-Tai

    All of this time I’ve wondered… finally an answer. Thank you :0)

  4. Jen

    Ok, so who’s next? Hello Kitty?

    • Justin Mymind

      Actually Hello Kitty is not gay, she’s a nympho

  5. MammaLoves

    And here I thought the Pope was going to be outted first.

  6. Michelle

    I am truly shocked. I thought that “Tinky Winky” of Teletubbies fame, and “The Ambiguously Gay Duo” on SNL were the only charachters who were out. Bugs Bunny, you say….I had no idea. I wonder who “Hello Kitty” would pair up with…

  7. Nance

    This is SO not news. How many times was Bugs in drag? Duh.

  8. ExpatJane

    LMAO! That’s absolutely classic!

    I knew there was something uncomfortably intimate about that relationship between Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny! I knew it!

    Thanks for letting us know the truth is out 😉

  9. Tuck

    …and Daffy Duck?…gay or not gay? Wacky Rabbit, Daffy Duck?….Hmm. And poor Porky Pig…poor guy…nobody wants the fat one.

  10. Miss Syl

    I remember years ago going to a “Was Bugs Gay?” midnight film fest, featuring all the cartoons where he donned drag, kissed male characters, etc.

    Now all that’s left is to finally out Bert and Ernie once and for all.

  11. Jennifer

    I love it!! Do you know how many people will take this as the gospel truth and spread it??? Fabulous!!!

  12. Jennifer

    And you know Bert and Ernie were more than just roommates on Sesame Street…

  13. better safe than sorry

    i’m shocked!!! i’m with tuck, i always assumed it was daffy duck.

  14. psychotoddler

    No big shock here. Bugs was always dressing in drag and kissing Elmer.

    And what about the whole hairdresser thing with that shaggy monster? Sure, he used dynamite to set the curls, but otherwise he seemed a little to knowledgeable about it.

  15. Rhea

    All of the best cartoon characters are gay.

  16. churlita

    Jen,

    Everyone knows that Hello Kitty is bi.

  17. Danny

    You are so damn good that I actually looked this up to read more on the topic. Then I remembered that Mel Blanc’s only son’s name was Noel! On the other hand, you are dead on–Bugs Bunny was SO gay. I suspect Popeye, too, and his lesbian beard, Olive Oyl. I can see her having a secret affair with bisexual Betty Boop.

  18. Ellen Bloom

    Think back. Porky Pig NEVER wears pants! Hmmmm?

  19. Timothy Long

    I guess I’m the only one who finds this disturbing.

  20. Jack

    Bugs and Porky had a torrid love affair.

  21. lemon

    So, is this like, fictional characters come out month?

  22. Kamo

    It’s good to see how much support people are giving our gay rabbit hero. While Elmer might have been the target of Bugs’ onscreen smooches, he actually lived with Daffy in the same rabbit hole durring the Friz Freleng years. It was the early sixties after all and America was begining to show more of it’s true colors.

  23. ron

    you people have to start thinking about what these people want . its called your kids .you seem to think it means nothing.get your heads out of the sand

  24. Kamo

    No, we don’t want your kids. You can keep them hidden under your protective wing, Ron On. The fact is, and from reading many biographies and autobiographies about and from the animators that made these little gems, the cartoons were for adults as well as kids. And further, is it your opinion that adults can’t have a little humor in their lives? Or should we continue to hide in the sand until your homophobic crusade burns itself out?

  25. ron

    Its called armagedon my friend ,and if you call homosexuality humor thats pretty sad, especially, when its with our children.

  26. Nobby

    I hear Flipper flipped too

  27. Kamo

    It’s a-r-m-a-g-e-d-d-o-n. If you’re so affraid, you should learn to spell it correctly at least. Sorry for the flame war, folks. Ron clearly missed the humor train and keeps staring at his broken watch thinking it’s still 1500 a.d. “Burn the heretics! Kill the gay wabbit!”

    • oz

      Hey fudge packer, why is it so hard for you accept that fact that not everyone is ok with you being a pervert. also since when is it ok for gay people to express the sexuality in a cartoon that kids watch when its clearly not ok for anyone else. with that said who gives a damn if bugs bunny is gay or not does that make you right and makes Ron wrong who is only worried about his kids. and please dont make any smart remarks to my comment because I will not read them. and by the way gay rights is a joke…people have been gay for thousands of years. you didnt invent hot water or anything…

  28. Name's Not george

    Frankly this doesn’t surprise me at all…

  29. JB

    u all are losers because bugs bunny is not gay

  30. Fox

    If anyone freaks out over a popular fictional character being gay, then pity for them. Anyway, this isn’t news for me at all. However, there are times he did fall for a chick (though frequently they have been decoys), so the question of whether he’s total gay or bisexual is still in the hat.

    Honestly, you cannot determine the personality of a cartoon character of a non-continuous flow of shorts having little to no relation to each other. But if he’s gay, so what? He’s still Bugs Bunny.

  31. DrNIkkk

    wait, steven blanc is not Mel blanc’s son
    he only had one and his name is Noel

  32. David Ehrenstein

    Oh Prunella! Who DIDN’T know Bugs was gay?

  33. Jamaal

    This is sooooo disturbing…I’ll never look at Bugs Bunny the same way again…
    Something just doesnt seem right about making cartoon characters gay. If kids are exposed to this, then chances are they’ll go out and think its perfectly okay to have same sex relations.
    I’m sorry, but this is just weird.

    • chronamut

      oh no – people might be HAPPY – better call the thought adjuster police!

      get your head out of the 1800s dude – love is love – let people be happy and pull your bigoted ostrich head out of the sand. Its damaging perceptions like yours that is damaging people, not the fact gay people exist.

  34. Chuks

    this is so sick. i am going to have nightmares tonight. what is the world comming 2 when even cartoonists cannot keep their sexuality to themselves.

  35. foolery

    And now we know how “The War of the Worlds” was able to get a toe-hold, wink wink. Nice job, Neil — the best satire roots out the fear-mongerers. 🙂

  36. Barry E

    The comments about how this will make it seem ok for kids to go try out gay sex are about the most retarded thing I’ve ever read. Look, Einstein, no one *chooses* to be gay, anymore than anyone chooses to be straight, or left-handed, or any of a number of other traits. One is gay, or one isn’t. That’s all there is to it.

    • dicksurfer

      i chose to be gay after a long run of being straight and then i chose to not be attracted to anything

  37. Aeolus

    While I’d be all for Bugs being gay, because that would be SUCH a slap in the face for those who are so virtuous in their homophobia, I have to wonder how many people seriously didn’t read the very last paragraph in this article…

  38. Baracudaboy

    Uuuuh, but wasn’t it obvious?
    Even when I was a kid, seeing Bugs crossdress and try to seduce Elmer Fudd was enough for even me to know which way he leaned!

    Ughh, American, the land of aloof closedminded sexphobics.

  39. Baracudaboy

    I mean, the furry fandom has known for ages, its halarious to think of all the childhoods this is going to ruin for right wingers who have now grown up to hate gay people.
    Ahaa, welcome to the real world fellas, gay people exsist in real life and fiction, they aren’t going to be supressed, they are only going to work and become stronger so one day they can take their rightful place next to every other hard working and loving American citizen of this less the savory country of ours.

  40. Amy

    Ha, Bugs is most certainly not gay.

    I’m going to marry him.

  41. tommy

    this is my favorite cartoon characters.
    very funny because of ignorance.

  42. Brucey

    I watched Bugs every week for years as a kid. No wonder I’m Gay!!

    • Rafael

      i don’t have anything against him being gay but… didn’t he hook up with lola bunny in space jam?

  43. Observer

    The face on the man in the photo in the banner at the top of this page is gay. And that is NOT a joke and it IS approved by Warner Brothers. Yeesh.

    • Observer

      Crap, I wish there was a way to delete my comment. Sorry, that was stupid of me. I’m depressed and in a cruel mood. Forgive me.

  44. cheap jerseys free shipping

    Even when I was a kid, seeing Bugs crossdress and try to seduce Elmer Fudd was enough for even me to know which way he leaned!

  45. Merri

    If Bugs is gay how did he produce all those babies he had with the the last of the Mohicans in the cartoon titled : A Feather in his Hare. Was the very male looking indian really a very homely women or is Bugs really a doe.

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  47. Nate Brady

    If you people would read the whole article for once, you would see that Bugs Bunny is not gay. Don’t believe anything you read online. It’s all lies, these days.

  48. tiff

    So its not okay for cartoon characters to be gay.. but it is okay for sexual and drug enuendos? If you really think about it.. the cartoons promote violence and killing.. lol.. so yeah.. homosexuality is the biggest issue! I seen an episode where bugs did a bump of coke with the general.. but all you homophobes overlook that.. huh? Smh! So stupid!

  49. Lmao

    There was a Loony Toons episode where Bugs and Elmer got married because they wete under some spell.

  50. alexathehonest

    My Gosh! Stop fighting, and just like, read the last paragraph. It clearly states that bugs bunny, is, in fact, not gay. It is not even approved by The Warner Brothers. Of course, like many of you said, he kisse s men, he dresses in drag, but heo also falls hard for Lola bunny. This gives viewers a clear hint. Maybe he is bi. Who said bugs haddto be gay? Plus, who cares? He is a fictional character. He has no real sexual orientation whatsoever. So all you haters out there, just leave him be. Plus, people have all the right to.be gay. One of my best friends is gay. It wasn’t his choice. I’m totally straight. Some people just aren’t the same. #respect

  51. Angela

    Why can’t people let children’s entertainment just be that? This sexualization of these characters is not necessary!

  52. FESTIE1968

    its funny how nobody knew or cared about mel blancs kid until this came out. nowhere near the talent his father was and he’s still riding daddy’s coattails trying to make a name for himself. why dont you let your father rest in peace?

  53. Jett Woodward

    He was bisexual!He jumped every female rabbit in sight, except that fat European one.It was Elmer who had that short fling with Cole Porter and tried to get Bugs into the gay clubs.Bugs did cross-dress onscreen, but he preferred women and anyway, if Daffy Duck caught him,he’d have exposed him to the tabloids and ruined him.Daffy and Foghorn Leghorn did try to get Bugs and that dog blacklisted as communists by Joe McCarthy.I also know Humphrey Bogart wanted to rub Bugs out for his fling with Lauren Bacall.

  54. Levi Jiles

    bugs bunny is not gay he dates lola bunny in the looney tunes show

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