Josh Gad Breaks Silence on the Backlash Over LeFou’s Controversial Moment!

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The actor who played LeFou in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast openly criticized the significant public backlash towards his character’s brief, subtle romantic moment with another male dancer in the film’s final scenes. This fleeting scene generated controversy when the movie was first released in 2017, leading some to boycott the film and even impose bans on screenings. In his recent book, In Gad We Trust, he admits that director Bill Condon’s build-up for this scene didn’t live up to expectations, unintentionally setting the stage for a letdown.

When “Beauty and the Beast” premiered, it turned out to be another triumph for Disney, boosting their conviction to mine their extensive archive of animated films for more live-action adaptations or reinterpretations. However, a scene that garnered more attention than any other was when LeFou, played by Gad, danced with a man. This incident, as described by Condon, represented “a unique, gay moment in a Disney film.” For the actor, this led to an excessive and misdirected criticism against the movie. According to Entertainment Weekly, Gad expressed this ordeal through his writing:

If I were gay, I’d likely be disappointed. Frankly, LeFou from the movie didn’t seem to be the representation the LGBTQ+ community had been longing for. It’s hard for me to envision a Pride celebration centered around this “cinematic milestone” involving a Disney sidekick who dances with a man briefly.

How Josh Gad Explains His ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Character

Although Condon later stated that the brief scene in the film was “overblown” and not significant, it’s apparent that Gad felt the incident was portrayed as something more than it originally was. In his book, Gad elaborated that during discussions between himself, Condon, and the movie’s screenwriters, they had a conversation about the specific type of devotion LeFou held towards Gaston. Gad clarified that the discussion centered around whether LeFou loved Gaston or was in love with him.

Undeniably, anyone who’s witnessed Disney’s rendition of this timeless fairy tale can clearly see that I, LeFou, am utterly captivated by the story’s villain. This was also the consensus in our discussions, and while it was acknowledged that my character has a particular fondness for him, I, Gaston, emphasized that it should remain just a harmless, unassuming moment.

Since my role was a supporting one, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to introduce a strong sexual aspect to a character who wasn’t central to the story. However, the scene (as it was explained to me) seemed innocuous enough – a casual, almost unnoticeable moment.

In simpler terms, Gad mentioned that an apparently minor detail in the movie, which was intended to clarify the character’s unclear intentions, ended up causing controversy because, “Once we highlighted it and seemed to pat ourselves on the back, we had unwittingly opened the floodgates for criticism and anger.

Ultimately, the movie “Beauty and the Beast” raked in an impressive $1.26 billion, but Gad found that discussions about its release often centered around a fleeting moment. Nonetheless, everything worked out favorably. Initially, a prequel series centered around Luke Evans’ Gaston and Gad’s LeFou was planned for Disney+, but after multiple pauses and restarts, the project was reportedly terminated last year.

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2025-01-16 15:32