Tweety Pie Gets Caught Up in Spat Over Catalonia Referendum
- #FreePiolin becomes rallying cry for separatist supporters
- Warner Bros.: Character used ‘entirely without our permission’
A ship used to house police reinforcements in Barcelona on Sept. 25, 2017.
Photographer: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Tweety Pie has taken center stage in the fight over independence for the Spanish region of Catalonia, and Warner Bros., the owner of the baby-talking cartoon character, isn’t happy.
The yellow canary has become an unlikely symbol for Catalan separatists because its image is emblazoned on a ship being used to house police trying to stop their drive for independence. The cruise ship, plastered with the images of Tweety, his arch-enemy Sylvester the cat and other Looney Tunes characters, was moored in Barcelona ahead of an illegal Oct. 1 referendum on Catalan independence that the central government is trying to block.