Christabel Duah
Sometimes in-laws don’t get along, but this family is taking things to a “Looney” new level.
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A New York City man says his father-in-law is taking advantage of his lifelong fear of the Tasmanian Devil to harass him. And yes, we mean the cartoon.
“It always made me very anxious,” 36-year-old Mazen Dayem said of the “Looney Tunes” character “Taz,” who’s more lovably known for terrorizing Bugs Bunny than actual audiences.
RELATED: The wild Tasmanian devil is a real Looney Tunes nightmare
According Dayem, his father-in-law Yunes Doleh harassed him at a funeral by waving around his toupee — which he says resembled the bushy creature he has a phobia of — and “proceeded to grimace, snarl, gurn and gesticulate” menacingly, according to court documents.
“He walked in as I was already there,” Dayem told The New York Post. “He removed his wig, made hand gestures. It’s just a very large fear of mine, his damn wig. Him and his hair reminds me of the Tasmanian Devil hair. I truly and genuinely have a large fear of wigs now. It’s a genuine fear. I have nightmares.”
Doleh, 62, was arrested in on Nov. 5 for violating a restraining order from his son-in-law while harassing him. According to court documents, the spat between the relatives has been going on since 2013. The younger man got a restraining order against Doleh two months before the November arrest after he allegedly kicked Dayem’s SUV, reported the Post.
RELATED: A driver saw street art of a Road Runner tunnel, and what happened next is classic “Looney Tunes”
The battle continued when Doleh proceeded to sue his son-in-law for defamation for putting photos of the alleged parking lot altercation on social media. For this recent arrest over the toupee, Doleh faces charges of criminal contempt and aggravated harassment.
“It’s a family dispute,” said Doleh’s attorney, Matthew Santamauro. “I believe at the end of the day, the criminal cases will be dismissed and my client [will be shown to have done] nothing wrong.”
Dayem’s lawyer, Robert Carson, defends his client’s bizarre fear.
“Mazen is very scared of this guy who looks like he has a rabid badger on his head. It troubles him greatly,” Garson said.
Thanksgiving dinners in this family must be hilariously awkward.
