‘Bety and the Beast’: Disney’s First-Ever Gay Character Is LeFou, Voiced by Josh Gad – The Hollywood Reporter

Contents:

• 'BETY AND THE BEAST'S 'GAY MOMENT' MAY HAVE BEEN MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHG
• ALL ABOUT THAT 'GAY MOMENT' 'BETY AND THE BEAST': WE ANSWER YOUR BURNG QUTNS
• ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ DIRECTOR TALKS OF ‘EXCLIVELY GAY’ MOMENT
• WHY DISNEY'S "EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT" DON'T DELIVER AT ALL
• BETY AND THE BEAST “DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH” WH GAY LEFOU, SAYS JOSH GAD “I DON’T THK WE DID JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE,” GAD SAID A RECENT TERVIEW.BY SAVANNAH WALSHMARCH 1, 2022FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIT’S BEEN NEARLY FIVE YEARS SCE DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTN BETY AND THE BEAST MA HEADL FOR AN “EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT” VOLVG LEFOU (PLAYED BY JOSH GAD), THE DIM-WTED SIKICK TO THE VILLAO GASTON (LE EVANS). THAT SCENE, TEASED BY DIRECTOR BILL CONDON DURG THE FILM’S PRS TOUR, WOUND UP BEG MERELY A BRIEF SHOT OF LEFOU DANCG WH ANOTHER MAN JT BEFORE THE CREDS ROLLED. GAD IS NOW REMORSEFUL ABOUT HIS CHARACTER’S POSNG AS DISNEY’S FIRST TE LGBTQ+ REPRENTATN.“WE DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH TO WARRANT ACLAS,” HE RECENTLY TOLD THE INPENNT. “WE DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH TO SAY, ‘LOOK HOW BRAVE WE ARE.’ MY REGRET WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT BEME ‘DISNEY’S FIRST EXPLICLY GAY MOMENT’ AND WAS NEVER TEND TO BE THAT. IT WAS NEVER TEND TO BE A MOMENT THAT WE SHOULD LD OURSELV FOR, BEE ANKLY, I DON’T THK WE DID JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE.”AT THE TIME OF BETY AND THE BEAST’S RELEASE, THE IMPLITN THAT A BELOVED ANIMATED CHARACTER WOULD BE QUEER ED NTROVERSY. AN ALABAMA THEATER REFED TO SCREEN THE FILM, MALAYSIA BALKED AT SCREENG AN UNCENSORED VERSN OF , AND RSIA APPROVED THE FILM FOR SCREENG BUT WH AN AGE RATG OF 16 AND ABOVE. AMIDST THE FALLOUT, CONDON REVISED HIS EARLIER MENTS, LLG VERAGE OF THE SCENE “OVERBLOWN.” MEANWHILE, GAD TOLD USA TODAY AT THE FILM’S PREMIERE THAT THE SCRIPT DID NOT EXPLICLY DISCLOSE LEFOU’S SEXUALY AS GAY. “THAT WAS NOT LEFOU,” GAD NTUED HIS REMARKS TO THE INPENNT. “IF WE’RE GOG TO PAT OURSELV ON THE BACK, THEN DAMN , WE SHOULD HAVE GONE FURTHER WH THAT. EVERYBODY SERV AN OPPORTUNY TO SEE THEMSELV ON SCREEN, AND I DON’T THK WE’VE DONE ENOUGH—AND I CERTALY HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH TO DO THAT.”GAD WAS SET TO REPRISE HIS ROLE AS LEFOU A PREQUEL SERI FOR DISNEY+, WHICH WOULD HAVE RNED WH EVANS’S GASTON. HOWEVER, DISNEY POSTPONED THE PROJECT EARLIER THIS YEAR, DUE TO CREATIVE LAYS. “WE TRIED TO MAKE ALL WORK BUT UNR THE GUN WASN’T MEANT TO BE…FOR NOW,” GAD, WHO WAS ALSO A SHOWNNER ON THE SERI, TWEETED. “THE CHARACTERS AND THIS STORY WILL LIVE ON, BUT SOMETIM THE BT TENTNS & REALY LLI & NOTHG N BE DONE.”MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— JERRY LEWIS’S COSTARS SPEAK OUT: “HE GRABBED ME. HE BEGAN TO FONDLE ME. I WAS DUMBSTCK”— INSI CHARLIZE THERON AND TOM HARDY’S MAD MAX WAR— INVENTG ANNA IS A “DANGERO” DISTORTN, SAYS RACHEL WILLIAMS— HOW THE GUN ALEC BALDW’S HANDS TURNED THE RT SET DEADLY— LOVE IS BLD SEASON TWO IS PEAK RED FLAG TELEVISN— PACHKO FIRST LOOK: AN EPIC TALE, AND A HISTORY-MAKG SHOW— VANY FAIR’S HOLLYWOOD ISSUE 2022: SEE THE FULL PORTFOL FEATURG NILE KIDMAN, KRISTEN STEWART, AND MORE— THE UGLY TTH OF HOW MOVIE SR ARE MA— KIRSTEN DUNST ON HER FIRST OSR NOMATN FOR THE POWER OF THE DOG— FROM THE ARCHIVE: WH FRIENDS LIKE THE— SIGN UP FOR THE “HWD DAILY” NEWSLETTER FOR MT-READ DTRY AND AWARDS VERAGE—PL A SPECIAL WEEKLY EDN OF “AWARDS INSIR.”MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHSAVANNAH WALSH
• PLEASE CHILL OUT ABOUT THE ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ GAY SCENE
• JOSH GAD SAYS HE DON'T THK 'BETY AND THE BEAST' DID 'JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE'
• 'BETY AND THE BEAST' FEATUR DISNEY'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER
• JOSH GAD REGRETS "GAY MOMENT" IN 'BETY AND THE BEAST', "WE DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH" - INSI THE MAGIC
• BETY AND THE BEAST: RSIA NSIRS BAN OVER 'GAY MOMENT'
• ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’: JOSH GAD PLAYS DISNEY’S FIRST-EVER GAY CHARACTER
• THE ‘EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT’ ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ PROV THE DANGER OF OVERHYPE
• ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ DIRECTOR SAYS FILM’S “GAY MOMENT” HAS BEEN “OVERBLOWN”
• ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ PULLED FROM MALAYSIA RELEASE AFTER ‘GAY MOMENT’ IS CUT
• 'GAY MOMENT': DISNEY PULLS BETY AND THE BEAST MALAYSIA FOLLOWG CENSORSHIP

'BETY AND THE BEAST'S 'GAY MOMENT' MAY HAVE BEEN MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHG

They're not talkg about the overall film, which is gettg great reviews (three out of four stars om USA TODAY) and breakg box office rerds wh a $170 ln but, the hight ever for March and the seventh-hight of all unrwhelmed reactn has been to the so-lled "exclively gay moment" the film, which has ed ternatnal ntroversy sce director Bill Condon first mentned an terview wh Attu the terview, Condon said the character LeFou (Josh Gad) would be portrayed as gay.

The "gay moment" that Condon was referrg to is a blk-and-you'll-miss- shot the film's fal sends. "If nobody had said that #LeFou had a 'gay moment'  #BetyAndTheBeast, I really don't thk would've even been a thg, " wrote one Twter er.

"Watched the new #BetyAndTheBeast movie last night, hontly don't unrstand what the outrage (about) there beg a gay character was (about), " wrote another. "Bt part of my day was when half the theater clapped and cheered when the gay uple me on screen #BetyAndTheBeast, " reported one dience who supported the film appld how much money was able rack spe reported "boytts.

ALL ABOUT THAT 'GAY MOMENT' 'BETY AND THE BEAST': WE ANSWER YOUR BURNG QUTNS

"Though the moment was well-received or unrwhelmg to many dience members, there were some the LGBT muny who thought the reprentatn of a gay character did not go far enough.

‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ DIRECTOR TALKS OF ‘EXCLIVELY GAY’ MOMENT

Also LeFou is not gay enough, " one Twter er sentiment was shared by some LGBT crics and wrers. "Disney n pat self on s back all wants for turng a villao buffoon that was d as gay the origal film to a morally ambiguo buffoon who is more obvly gay, nfis a teapot, and tri out dancg wh a man, " wrote Vulture. "Although I adored the movie overall, part of my tratn wh is that I had hoped for more out of Condon’s 'exclively gay moment, '" The Huffgton Post explaed.

For the past few days, the Inter has been explodg over the news that Bety and the Beast ( theaters March 17) has what director Bill Condon lled Disney’s first “exclively gay moment. Here’s the ndown of what happens the film, and why the reactn has been mixed even among gay Disney fans.

WHY DISNEY'S "EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT" DON'T DELIVER AT ALL

Warng: Bety and the Beast spoilers to exactly is the “gay moment” Bety and the Beast?

BETY AND THE BEAST “DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH” WH GAY LEFOU, SAYS JOSH GAD “I DON’T THK WE DID JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE,” GAD SAID A RECENT TERVIEW.BY SAVANNAH WALSHMARCH 1, 2022FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIT’S BEEN NEARLY FIVE YEARS SCE DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTN BETY AND THE BEAST MA HEADL FOR AN “EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT” VOLVG LEFOU (PLAYED BY JOSH GAD), THE DIM-WTED SIKICK TO THE VILLAO GASTON (LE EVANS). THAT SCENE, TEASED BY DIRECTOR BILL CONDON DURG THE FILM’S PRS TOUR, WOUND UP BEG MERELY A BRIEF SHOT OF LEFOU DANCG WH ANOTHER MAN JT BEFORE THE CREDS ROLLED. GAD IS NOW REMORSEFUL ABOUT HIS CHARACTER’S POSNG AS DISNEY’S FIRST TE LGBTQ+ REPRENTATN.“WE DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH TO WARRANT ACLAS,” HE RECENTLY TOLD THE INPENNT. “WE DIDN’T GO FAR ENOUGH TO SAY, ‘LOOK HOW BRAVE WE ARE.’ MY REGRET WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT BEME ‘DISNEY’S FIRST EXPLICLY GAY MOMENT’ AND WAS NEVER TEND TO BE THAT. IT WAS NEVER TEND TO BE A MOMENT THAT WE SHOULD LD OURSELV FOR, BEE ANKLY, I DON’T THK WE DID JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE.”AT THE TIME OF BETY AND THE BEAST’S RELEASE, THE IMPLITN THAT A BELOVED ANIMATED CHARACTER WOULD BE QUEER ED NTROVERSY. AN ALABAMA THEATER REFED TO SCREEN THE FILM, MALAYSIA BALKED AT SCREENG AN UNCENSORED VERSN OF , AND RSIA APPROVED THE FILM FOR SCREENG BUT WH AN AGE RATG OF 16 AND ABOVE. AMIDST THE FALLOUT, CONDON REVISED HIS EARLIER MENTS, LLG VERAGE OF THE SCENE “OVERBLOWN.” MEANWHILE, GAD TOLD USA TODAY AT THE FILM’S PREMIERE THAT THE SCRIPT DID NOT EXPLICLY DISCLOSE LEFOU’S SEXUALY AS GAY. “THAT WAS NOT LEFOU,” GAD NTUED HIS REMARKS TO THE INPENNT. “IF WE’RE GOG TO PAT OURSELV ON THE BACK, THEN DAMN , WE SHOULD HAVE GONE FURTHER WH THAT. EVERYBODY SERV AN OPPORTUNY TO SEE THEMSELV ON SCREEN, AND I DON’T THK WE’VE DONE ENOUGH—AND I CERTALY HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH TO DO THAT.”GAD WAS SET TO REPRISE HIS ROLE AS LEFOU A PREQUEL SERI FOR DISNEY+, WHICH WOULD HAVE RNED WH EVANS’S GASTON. HOWEVER, DISNEY POSTPONED THE PROJECT EARLIER THIS YEAR, DUE TO CREATIVE LAYS. “WE TRIED TO MAKE ALL WORK BUT UNR THE GUN WASN’T MEANT TO BE…FOR NOW,” GAD, WHO WAS ALSO A SHOWNNER ON THE SERI, TWEETED. “THE CHARACTERS AND THIS STORY WILL LIVE ON, BUT SOMETIM THE BT TENTNS & REALY LLI & NOTHG N BE DONE.”MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— JERRY LEWIS’S COSTARS SPEAK OUT: “HE GRABBED ME. HE BEGAN TO FONDLE ME. I WAS DUMBSTCK”— INSI CHARLIZE THERON AND TOM HARDY’S MAD MAX WAR— INVENTG ANNA IS A “DANGERO” DISTORTN, SAYS RACHEL WILLIAMS— HOW THE GUN ALEC BALDW’S HANDS TURNED THE RT SET DEADLY— LOVE IS BLD SEASON TWO IS PEAK RED FLAG TELEVISN— PACHKO FIRST LOOK: AN EPIC TALE, AND A HISTORY-MAKG SHOW— VANY FAIR’S HOLLYWOOD ISSUE 2022: SEE THE FULL PORTFOL FEATURG NILE KIDMAN, KRISTEN STEWART, AND MORE— THE UGLY TTH OF HOW MOVIE SR ARE MA— KIRSTEN DUNST ON HER FIRST OSR NOMATN FOR THE POWER OF THE DOG— FROM THE ARCHIVE: WH FRIENDS LIKE THE— SIGN UP FOR THE “HWD DAILY” NEWSLETTER FOR MT-READ DTRY AND AWARDS VERAGE—PL A SPECIAL WEEKLY EDN OF “AWARDS INSIR.”MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHSAVANNAH WALSH

Jt dancg, for about two LeFou is gay, right? Condon has said that LeFou is gay, and Disney is standg behd him.

” LeFou’s g-out story is so brief and subtextual that many young viewers likely won’t notice why is the director sayg ’s Disney’s first “exclively gay moment”? Maybe what Condon was tryg to say is that LeFou’s boy-meets-boy moment is the clost Disney has ever e to showg a gay love story, whout makg to a joke. Beyond that, most of the Disney characters who exhib stereotypilly gay characteristics — Aladd’s Jafar, The Ltle Mermaid’s drag queen-spired Ursula, Governor Ratcliffe Pohontas — have been villas.

So by the time he has his “gay moment, ” he has reemed himself. That don’t change the fact that he’s a villa’s sikick for most of the story — which is one reason that some fans are disappoted by the choice of LeFou as Disney’s pneerg gay more do LGBTQ fans want?

PLEASE CHILL OUT ABOUT THE ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ GAY SCENE

Gay Disney fans have been longg for an spirg protagonist to ll their own, not least of all bee would help gay and qutng young people — who have very high suici rat — feel ls alone. Is Bety and the Beast’s gay subplot a good or bad thg?

JOSH GAD SAYS HE DON'T THK 'BETY AND THE BEAST' DID 'JTICE TO WHAT A REAL GAY CHARACTER A DISNEY FILM SHOULD BE'

Movi|‘Bety and the Beast’ Director Talks of ‘Exclively Gay’ Moment ADVERTISEMENTCred... But what about a gay LeFou?

And so seems to have tiptoed toward open homosexualy s new live-actn versn of “Bety and the Beast. ”Bill Condon, who directed the film, and is openly gay, told the Brish magaze Attu that the manservant LeFou, played by Josh Gad, has “a nice, exclively gay moment” the movie, which has s premiere here on Thursday and arriv theaters the Uned Stat on March Condon ntued: “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. ” The Daily Dot, whout havg seen the movie, stomped s foot, sayg that a gay LeFou was “hardly a high pot for posive L.

Condon’s word choice — “exclively” gay?

'BETY AND THE BEAST' FEATUR DISNEY'S FIRST GAY CHARACTER

Gad is not gay.

LeFou sure seemed to have a csh on Gaston Disney’s 1991 animated versn of “Bety and the Beast, ” ntug a tradn of Disney sikicks that seem to be gay whout statg . A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn C, Page 3 of the New York edn wh the headle: ‘Bety and the Beast’ to Have ‘Gay Moment’.

Warng: this post ntas implied homosexual spoilers.

JOSH GAD REGRETS "GAY MOMENT" IN 'BETY AND THE BEAST', "WE DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH" - INSI THE MAGIC

A few weeks ago, news broke that the new live-actn Bety and the Beast would feature s first openly gay character.

But is a nice, exclively gay moment a Disney movie.

BETY AND THE BEAST: RSIA NSIRS BAN OVER 'GAY MOMENT'

" While the announcement led to evable backlash om some, others lled to qutn this claim that LeFou would be Disney's "first" openly gay character. In fact, not only is LeFou cidly not an openly gay Disney character, but the "exclively gay moment" hardly earns that we dive to the mutiae of the problem, let me expla how this "exclively gay moment" go down.

" Which seems like a non filmmakers felt the need to troduce a send gay character, but who? Stanley is already clearly signated as a "gay" character the most shallow sense. Stanley trots gleefully down the stairs and exs the when do our "exclively gay moment" happen?

Allow me to make a few statements: Drsg well and stylg your hair do not make you gay.

‘BETY AND THE BEAST’: JOSH GAD PLAYS DISNEY’S FIRST-EVER GAY CHARACTER

Wearg women's cloth do not make you gay. Enjoyg drag culture do not make you gay. Dancg wh someone of the same genr at a party do not make you gay.

Dancg wh someone of the same genr at a party is not a "gay moment.

In realy, an dividual's homosexualy is not nfirmed unls they explicly mentn their romantic attractn to dividuals of the same genr.

THE ‘EXCLIVELY GAY MOMENT’ ‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ PROV THE DANGER OF OVERHYPE

Are they even attracted to each other, or are they jt shoved together bee they're both gay?

Why uldn't LeFou and Stanley peck on the lips or say somethg unniably gay their "exclively gay moment" together? In fact, as the ter has duly noted, there are plenty of implicly gay characters Disney history. Judgg by how groundbreakg they thought this whole oral would be, though, we're que far om a Disney character who exclaims, "I'm gay!

‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ DIRECTOR SAYS FILM’S “GAY MOMENT” HAS BEEN “OVERBLOWN”

Strap , 's gog to be que a while before our gay "happily ever after. It’s been nearly five years sce Disney’s live-actn Bety and the Beast ma headl for an “exclively gay moment” volvg LeFou (played by Josh Gad), the dim-wted sikick to the villao Gaston (Le Evans). ’ My regret what happened is that beme ‘Disney’s first explicly gay moment’ and was never tend to be that.

It was never tend to be a moment that we should ld ourselv for, bee ankly, I don’t thk we did jtice to what a real gay character a Disney film should be. ” Meanwhile, Gad told USA Today at the film’s premiere that the script did not explicly disclose LeFou’s sexualy as gay. Instead, people have fixated on a blk-and-you-miss- sequence of gayns toward the end of the film.

‘BETY AND THE BEAST’ PULLED FROM MALAYSIA RELEASE AFTER ‘GAY MOMENT’ IS CUT

Le grand as began when director Bill Condon misguidly promised a “nice, exclively gay moment” his live-actn remake.

'GAY MOMENT': DISNEY PULLS BETY AND THE BEAST MALAYSIA FOLLOWG CENSORSHIP

A Screen Rant story said: “Why Disney’s First Gay Character Matters. ” Meanwhile, an Inquistr piece explaed “Why ‘Bety And The Beast’ Gay Scene Don’t Matter.

But that has nothg to do wh a barely-there, old-school, implicly gay scene; ’s bee ’s Disney’s Bety and the Freak’ Beast. Instead, nsir that one month ago, “Moonlight, ” a film featurg assuredly gay characters alg wh real-life stggl, won the Amy Award for Bt Picture — the first gay movie to ever do so.