Just when we thought we couldn’t get any more excited for Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, director Bill Condon gave us another reason to rush to the theater on March 17. In an interview with Attitude, Condon reveals that an “exclusively gay moment” will happen in the film, and we’re intrigued, to say the least!
In the movie, Gaston’s manservant LeFou, played by Josh Gad, has conflicting feelings about the oh-so-dreamy Gaston. “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” says Condon of the complicated relationship.
“He’s confused about what he wants,” Condon explains. “It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its payoff at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.” I can already hear the fanfic being written!
This is a huge moment for Disney and the LGBTQ community, and Attitude‘s editor-in-chief Matt Cain sums it up perfectly. “It may have been a long time coming but this is 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. 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.”
We couldn’t agree more!