The Henagar Drive-In Theatre in DeKalb County, Alabama, is refusing to screen Disney’s hotly-anticipated new live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens because its new owners are homophobic and the Film contains the first ever openly gay character in a Disney film.
Director revealed character’s sexuality in an interview
Bill Condon, the director of “Beauty and the Beast,” said in a recent interview with Attitude magazine that the character being played by Josh Gad (already Disney royalty for portraying Olaf in the universally worshipped “Frozen”) will be an openly gay man.
The character is LeFou, Gaston’s lively and colourful companion. LeFou is officially the first ever LGBTQ character to feature in a Disney film. Condon explained the decision to make LeFou gay, saying it was a way of honouring the memory of Howard Ashman, who wrote the lyrics for music in the 1991 animated original.
The Alabama drive-in is under new management, and the new owners don’t agree with the previous owners’ choice of films. They say the cancellation is because they “need to take a stand” against companies who “continually force their views on us,” such as the view Disney is “forcing” with “Beauty and the Beast” that gay people exist. How dare they!
The owner responded to the controversy surrounding the cancellation by saying, “We all make choices and I am making mine.” Their loss.
“Beauty and the Beast” is going to be a huge movie, especially for kids, but the owner of the Cinema doesn’t think that, saying that they believe they “cannot take (their) 11-year-old granddaughter and 8-year-old grandson” to watch the film, and that they “can’t sit through (“Beauty and the Beast”) with God or Jesus sitting by (them).” Right.
Cinema owners don’t mind the controversy
The owner of the theatre knows this decision to cancel “Beauty and the Beast” screenings will be controversial and says “that’s fine.” They said that they are “first and foremost Christians,” and that they refuse to “compromise on what the Bible teaches.” They will show family films at the cinema, but only ones where parents don’t have to worry about their children being exposed to sex, nudity, bad language, or homosexuality.
Most parents are only really worried about their kids being exposed to three of those things, with the other being perfectly acceptable.
Condon told Attitude that LeFou is “confused about what he wants” and often “wants to kiss Gaston,” and he is “just realising that he has these feelings,” making him a great candidate to play Disney’s first gay character, which Gad is “beyond proud” to be bringing to the screen. “Beauty and the Beast” will be released in cinemas on 17 March.
