Eight years after the discharge of Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast,” actor Josh Gad is reflecting on the controversy surrounding the movie’s so-called “exclusively gay moment.”
In his memoir “In Gad We Trust,” Gad brushes off the implication that the 2017 movie was supposed to characteristic Disney’s “first-ever gay character” regardless of a short scene by which his character, LeFou, was seen dancing with one other man.
“I for one certainly didn’t exactly feel like LeFou was who the queer community had been wistfully waiting for,” the actor wrote, as seen in an excerpt of the ebook printed by Entertainment Weekly. “I can’t quite imagine a Pride celebration in honor of the ‘cinematic watershed moment’ involving a quasi-villainous Disney sidekick dancing with a man for half a second. I mean, if I were gay, I’m sure I’d be pissed.”
Gad additionally notes that he “never once discussed” LeFou’s sexuality with the film’s inventive crew, and described the much-buzzed-about dancing scene as “harmless” and “a fun blink-and-you’ll-miss-it little beat.”
“It was both too little and not enough to be anything more than it was,” he wrote.
The discourse surrounding LeFou’s sexuality could be traced to director Invoice Condon, who recommended in a 2017 interview that the character had more-than-platonic emotions for the movie’s lead antagonist, Gaston (performed by Luke Evans).
“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He’s confused about what he wants,” Condon informed Angle journal on the time, earlier than noting that the movie concludes with “a nice, exclusively gay moment.”
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis by way of Getty Photos
After information of the subplot made headlines, “Beauty and the Beast” was banned in a number of international locations and drew boycotts within the U.S. Nonetheless, the movie was a field workplace smash, raking in a reported $1.2 billion worldwide.
Noting that Condon “felt awful” about his remarks, Gad believes LeFou’s flirtation with a male suitor may need been higher acquired if viewers had been permitted to find it for themselves.
“Had the audience defined it as a sweet exclusively gay moment, I would have been delighted! But the second we pointed it out and seemingly congratulated ourselves, we had invited hell and fury,” he wrote.
A Tony Award nominee for “The Book of Mormon,” Gad continues to have knowledgeable relationship with Disney, having endeared himself to a era of viewers because the voice of Olaf within the “Frozen” movies. As for Disney’s depiction of the LGBTQ+ group in its movies and tv collection, nonetheless, it has remained spotty in recent times.
The corporate drew backlash in 2020 when it introduced “Love, Victor,” a queer-inclusive teen collection developed for Disney+, would as an alternative debut on Hulu after producers reportedly concluded its material wasn’t family-friendly. The present was later made obtainable on each of the Disney-owned streaming platforms.
In December, Disney confirmed that a storyline involving a transgender character had been faraway from the forthcoming Pixar collection “Win or Lose.”
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“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience,” an organization spokesperson mentioned in an announcement, “we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
Watch the trailer for “Beauty and the Beast” beneath.
