Reports of an “exclusively gay moment” in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast fueled intense speculation and sparked controversy when the details were reported last week — but now the film’s director says the controversy isn’t really a controversy at all.
“Oh, God. Can I just tell you? It’s all been overblown,” director Bill Condon said Friday in an interview with ScreenCrush.
Last week, Condon told Attitude magazine that the character LeFou (Josh Gad), “wants to kiss Gaston (Luke Evans),” in what “is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.”
Now, the film director says his comments have been wildly exaggerated. “Because it’s just this — it’s part of just what we had fun with,” Condon said. “I love the way it plays pure when people don’t know and it comes as a nice surprise.”
Last Tuesday, Disney released a promotional clip online showing a flamboyant Gad singing his ode to Gaston: “For there’s no man in town half as manly. Perfect, a pure paragon.”
Condon says he can only hope that audiences don’t “make a big deal of it.”
“Why is it a big deal?”
Condon also commended Gad for being able to make “something really subtle and delicious out of” the role.
Disney’s highly-anticipated Beauty and the Beast opens in theatres March 17. The film is directed by Condon and stars Dan Stevens, Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, and Josh Gad.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson
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