Beauty and the Beast: Alabama theatre won't screen Emma Watson's latest 'because of gay character'

The live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast starring Luke Evans and Emma Watson, will, for the first time in Disney history, feature a gay aspect, the films director Bill Condon said. Condon said Belle’s suitor Gaston has an admirer in the form of his sidekick LeFou (essayed by Josh Gad) in the musical film. [caption id=“attachment_3313042” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The character of Le Fou played by Josh Gad.[/caption] “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” Condon told Attitude magazine. “He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realising that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its pay-off at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie,” he added.   It looks like Disney and Condon’s move might have been welcome for many, but for a drive-in theatre in Alabama this twist to the human-beast love story meant that the film will not be screening in the theatre. “It is with great sorrow that I have to tell our customers that we will not be showing ‘Beauty and the Beast,’” read a message on the Facebook page of the Henagar Drive-In Theatre in the northeast portion of the state.  The message was removed after it garnered negative response, but WHNT news has it here. [caption id=“attachment_3314864” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Image courtesy: whnt news[/caption]

Carol Laney, who owns the theater with her husband, cited their religious beliefs as she explained  why they opposed the film. “I have family members that are homosexuals. I have a relationship with them. I love them. It does not mean I’m a bigot,” she said in a telephone interview with The New York Times. “I’m not judging them when I tell you that God’s word says this, that’s not me. That’s God’s word.”

Here is is seen for the first time in the song ‘Gaston:’

The live action remake of Beauty and the Beast will be released on 16 March 2017 in India. It stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as The Beast, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Babette, Kevin Kline as Maurice and Audra McDonald as Wardrobe. But if early reviews of the film are to be believed, Henegar Theatre and Ms Laney need not be worried: there is just an implied suggestion of LeFou’s sexuality in the film. (With inputs from agencies)