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Condon talked about feeling the pressure of devoted fanbases when adapting these musicals off-stage. "So it was there. He's the one Gaston should marry. The show was later made available on both of the Disney-owned streaming platforms. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Long before Rachel Zegler's Snow White adaptation was causing live-action woes for Disney, the studio's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast caused a similar stir.
He's been behind several successful and acclaimed films, including Chicago and Dreamgirls. But the second we pointed it out and seemingly congratulated ourselves, we had invited hell and fury.”
After news of the subplot made headlines, and news of the brief shot of LeFou dancing with another man prompted an intense public backlash, Beauty and the Beast was banned in several countries and drew boycotts in the U.S.
Still, the film was a box office smash, raking in a reported $1.2 billion worldwide.
Gad says that Condon, who is gay, “felt awful” about his remarks, and “felt put on the spot… to share his pride for some form of representation in the film” during the interview with Attitude.
This is not the first time Gad has spoken about the intense backlash that his character and Beauty and the Beast received.
He explains that he does not feel as though LeFou was positive representation for the queer community and that he empathizes with the negative reception to the film's disappointing moment. "That was such a debacle because it was an offhanded comment in an interview with a gay magazine in London," Condon said. The fact simply was that “never once was the moment in this film described to me as something that we were going to hang a lantern on and pat ourselves on the back for.
That show was sung-through onstage. As for Disney’s depiction of the LGBTQ+ community in its films and television series, that continues to remain spotty…
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It’s clear no one else is into him, but he loves him.'"
Condon went on to further discuss the original animated Beauty and the Beast film, noting how its soundtrack made it feel appropriate to draw romantic interest between Gaston and LeFou.
The company drew backlash in 2020 when it announced “Love, Victor,” a queer-inclusive teen series developed for Disney+, would instead debut on Hulu after producers reportedly concluded its subject matter wasn’t family-friendly.
“I can’t quite imagine a Pride celebration in honor of the ‘cinematic watershed moment’ involving a quasi-villainous Disney sidekick dancing with a man for half a second.
“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. It’s impossible to do in a movie — you need relief," he said.
Condon also touched on how it's impossible to please everyone, noting that people "condemn" him for cutting a song from Dreamgirls.
Check out the excerpt from Gad's memoir below:
I for one certainly didn't exactly feel like LeFou was who the queer community had been wistfully waiting for. Securing the future of queer representation
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Josh Gad addresses the full story of the gay LeFou controversy in Beauty and the Beast.
I mean, if I were gay, I’m sure I’d be pissed.”
Gad also notes that he “never once discussed” LeFou’s sexuality with the movie’s creative team, and described the much-buzzed-about dancing scene as “harmless” and “a fun blink-and-you’ll-miss-it little beat.”
Gad says that prior to production commencing that he, director Bill Condon, and screenwriters Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos had a “casual (but ultimately seismic) conversation… about the specific nature of LeFou’s devotion to Gaston (Luke Evans).
And Disney, to their credit, didn’t cut it anywhere.