Disney built a wholesome reputation with princesses finding their prince and living happily ever after for generations of children. But now their movie of Beauty and the Beast has a manservant exploring his homosexuality.
The live-action version of Beauty and the Beast has star Emma Watson making the role of Belle more feminist and also the character of LeFou is homosexual as he struggles with his feelings for ultra-macho leading man Gaston.
But the backlash over the homosexual character appearing in Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is rising, and has put an Alabama theater and Russian government officials on common ground. An Alabama drive-in theater has canceled plans for the movie and the Russian government is considering banning the film following the homosexual revelations.
The theater has said it would continue to show “wholesome” movies so patrons would not worry “about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language.” While the Disney director said that the outcry over the first homosexual character in a Disney movie is “overblown.”