Things We Saw Today: Josh Gad Admits ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Didn’t Go Far Enough With LeFou’s Homosexuality
Josh Gad has addressed Disney’s first “exclusively gay moment” with his character in their live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast and how it failed to live up to the expectations that were set up.
“We didn’t go far enough to warrant accolades,” Gad told The Independent. “We didn’t go far enough to say, ‘Look how brave we are.’ My regret in what happened is that it became ‘Disney’s first explicitly gay moment’ and it was never intended to be that. It was never intended to be a moment that we should laud ourselves for, because frankly, I don’t think we did justice to what a real gay character in a Disney film should be. That was not LeFou. If we’re going to pat ourselves on the back, then damn it we should have gone further with that. Everybody deserves an opportunity to see themselves on screen, and I don’t think we’ve done enough – and I certainly haven’t done enough to do that.”
For those who may have forgotten (we sure would like to), the “moment” is LeFou dancing with a man far in the background. It is as dull and unimaginative as the rest of the movie.
(via CinemaBlend, image: Disney)
- Jason Momoa will play a bad guy in the upcoming Fast & Furious 10. Delicious. (via ComicBook.com)
- My Super Hero Is Black by Angélique Roché and John Jennings is coming out and the cover is a beautiful celebration of Blackness in comics. (via EW)
- Paramount Pictures has joined the Russia boycott over their invasion of Ukraine: “As we witness the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to pause the theatrical release of our upcoming films in Russia, including ‘The Lost City,’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.’ We stand by all those impacted by the humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, Russia, and our international markets and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.” (via Variety)
- Ariana DeBose has been cast as the Voodoo Priestess Calypso, who is a lover and partner of Kraven the Hunter. (via Collider)
- The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Russia’s invasion had “affected Ukrainians and non-citizens in many devastating ways,” acknowledging the racism in Ukraine. (via HuffPo)
- Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, is calling for gaming companies to pull from Russian markets. (via Polygon)
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com