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The ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Script Never Said ‘LeFou Is Gay’

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 02:06 PST, Mar 25, 2017

The Beauty and The Beast script never said say “LeFou is gay,” according to the actor playing LeFou in the live-action adaptation of the Disney classic, as reported by USA Today.

And for those who’re wondering, sorry – Frozen’s Elsa will probably not be a lesbian. But Beauty and The Beast has officially featured Disney’s first-ever gay moment.

In an apparent attempt to keep pace with fast-changing societal mores, Disney featured its first-ever gay character in Beauty and The Beast. And while the film arrived in theaters on March 17, people had already been talking for weeks before its release about that mysterious “gay moment” in the live-action film.

LeFou, played by actor Josh Gad (who, by the way, voices Olaf in critically-lauded Frozen), has a “wonderful gay moment” in Beauty and The Beast, as revealed by director Bill Condon at the film’s premiere.

Gad was also present at the red carpet event, and he joked speaking to reporters that he has “not seen anything about that” gay moment. On a more serious note, the Beauty and The Beast actor admitted that he’s “really proud” to play Disney’s first-ever gay character.

In fact, becoming gay is only a tiny part of the bigger transformation of LeFou in Beauty and The Beast. In the original 1991 classic version, the character goes through a lot of physical pain (he gets hit in the head all the time and loses a fair share of his teeth).

But in the 2017 live-action version of Beauty and The Beast he doesn’t suffer much. And Gad apparently couldn’t be happier about not having to have his teeth “knocked out every five seconds.”

“I need these for future work.”

In 2017’s Beauty and The Beast, LeFou is a major character who gives guidance to Gaston, played by Luke Evans, and explores his own sexuality. But here’s the plot twist: Gad claims that there is nothing in the Beauty and The Beast script that says “LeFou is gay.” Nonetheless, the Frozen actor says he’s “honored” to have that gay moment as “part of my character’s arc.”

The news about Disney’s first-ever gay character in Beauty and The Beast wasn’t received well by some social media users, according to the Independent.

While the majority of social media users seem to agree that it’s about time for a Disney movie to explore a gay storyline, there were those who wondered, “Why does Beauty and the Beast need a gay character?”

Whenever LGBTQIA+ characters are introduced into mainstream stories, the filmmakers are often accused of squeezing gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or asexual stories in where they are not “necessary.”

And while there is a perfectly legitimate reason why Beauty and The Beast finally features a gay character (in fact, Disney should have done this back in 1991), the news drew ire from some social media users, who accuse the Beauty and The Beast producers of making a forced political statement.

However, not many of the critics are aware of the true story behind the original Beauty and The Beast movie. The lyricist of the original film – Howard Ashman – was a gay man living with AIDS.

It was his painful experience of living with HIV that inspired him to write the storyline of Beauty and The Beast. Speaking to LGBT publication Attitude, director Condon said for Ashman the storyline of the film was “a metaphor for AIDS.”

“He was cursed and this curse had brought sorrow on all those people who loved him and maybe there was a chance for a miracle and a way for the curse to be lifted.”

[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]

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