The thing we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived: Disney’s first “exclusively gay moment.”
The highly anticipated remake of Disney’s 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast hits theaters on March 17, and not only does it star feminist darling Emma Watson, but it also comes with a hyped gay moment from macho, dumb-as-rocks Gaston sidekick and manservant, LeFou.
LeFou will reportedly “explore his sexuality and feelings” for Gaston, leaving us with an “exclusively gay moment” that has yet to be given away.
“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” director Bill Condon told Attitude magazine.
“He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings,” he added.
In the remake, the dopey sidekick is played by actor Josh Gad, who Condon says “makes something really subtle and delicious” out of the character’s sexuality. In the end, there is a “nice, exclusively gay moment,” said Condon.
In a released clip of the film, a flamboyant LeFou seemingly mixes his admiration for Gaston with feelings of love, reenacting the classic scene where LeFou sings the praises of his mentor, lifting his spirits after Belle turns him down.
Watch:
Attitude magazine Editor-in-Chief Matt Cain called the gay signaling a “watershed moment” for Disney.
“By representing same-sex attraction in this short but explicitly gay scene, the studio is sending out a message that this is normal and natural – and this is a message that will be heard in every country of the world, even countries where it’s still socially unacceptable or even illegal to be gay,” wrote Cain.
“It’s only a first step towards creating a cinematic world that reflects the world in which many of us are now proud to live,” added Cain.
Last year, Disney/Pixar briefly featured a lesbian couple in their Finding Nemo spin-off, Finding Dory. Well, the couple was gay only if you wanted them to be, or something.
“There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet with the two female characters we show in the trailer as to whether or not we’re showing a same-sex couple in a Pixar movie. Is that the case?” a reporter asked producer Lindsay Collins.
“We never asked them,” answered Collins.
“We honestly have not asked any of the couples on any of our shots of any of our movies,” added director Andrew Stanton. “So it’s whatever they want them to be…There’s no right or wrong.”