The live-action adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated feature "Beauty and the Beast" is ready to hit the theaters on March 17, but the movie seems to fall into the hands of controversy when Disney held up the release of the film in Malaysia following a short 'gay moment' cut.
According to Washington Times, Bill Condon, the director of the film, stated that the controversy surrounding the infamous gay moment between the dashing villain Gaston, played by Luke Evans and his sidekick LeFou, played by Josh Gad, has been overblown. "It's such a small, little smile moment, you know what I mean?" said the director who was present at the film's Lincoln Center premiere.
Earlier this week, Condon made international headlines when he said he portrayed LeFou as a character who is confused about his feelings for Gaston.
"LeFou is somebody who sometimes wants to be like Gaston and other times want to kiss him," said Condon. The news was quickly picked by many hate groups such as anti-LGBTQ group, asking parents to ditch the re-imagined saga, reports Huffington Post.
As reported by New York Daily News, Condon stated that anyone who has seen the original film should know that LeFou was infatuated with Gaston. Alan Menken, the composer of the movie, too favored the director, saying, "It's LeFou, Absolutely."
Bill Condon also explained that he discussed the scene and ultimately decided to go with it as he couldn't bear to watch another version of it. Ewan McGregor, one of the casts of the film, appeared on "The Late Show" on Monday defending the director and LeFou. "He's a gay character. It's 2017, for f**k's sake," said McGregor who plays the role of Lumiere.
The film's leading lady Emma Watson (Belle) also believes that the 'gay moment' has been overstated. "Does LeFou idolize Gaston? Is he in love with him? What's their relationship? And I think it's incredibly subtle, to be perfectly honest," said Watson during a SiriusXM segment.