“Beauty and the Beast” to Feature First Openly Gay Disney Character as LeFou Longs for Gaston

in Disney, Entertainment, Movies, Movies & TV

In translating Disney’s classic animated fairytale “Beauty and the Beast” to live-action, it’s more than just the strong visual style that will make a statement.

Revealed exclusively to British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude, the character of LeFou – Gaston’s sidekick, played by Josh Gad – will be openly gay.

Related: Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Prequel Adds New Female Lead

It’s a first for the studio to feature an openly gay character in a fairytale film. While Disney has hinted at a few gay characters in the past, such as Oaken in “Frozen,” it’s all been relegated to subtext. LeFou’s sexuality will be prominent, according to director Bill Condon.

“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” reveals Condon to Attitude.

“He’s confused about what he wants. 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.”

Josh Gad, of course, famously voiced Olaf the lovable snowman in “Frozen” for Disney, has now embraced an opportunity to embody what will soon be another legendary performance.

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