Josh Gad Says "There Was Nothing in the Script" About His 'Beauty and the Beast' Character Being Gay

BY Josiah HughesPublished Mar 3, 2017

Earlier this week, Disney's Beauty and the Beast remake dominated the news cycle after director Bill Condon revealed that the film would feature an openly gay character. Now, however, Condon and star Josh Gad are toning down their language about the film.

In an interview with Attitude, Condon said that LeFou — Gaston's comical sidekick, played by Josh Gad — is a homosexual, adding that the character has "a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie."
 
Gad himself said he was 'beyond proud" of the revelation on Twitter, but the two have now suggested that it's not as big a deal as they once thought.

Speaking with USA Today, Gad clarified that "there was nothing in the script that said 'LeFou is gay.'"
 
Condon said, "I think [LeFou's sexuality] has been a little overstated," adding that he had hoped the homosexual subtext would have come as a surprise to viewers. "To me, I have to say my heart sinks a little [that we're talking about this moment]," said Condon. "I like the idea of it coming as this surprise, and I hope people don't know where it's coming."

Still, Gad said he was honoured to expand the character. "What was most important to me was taking a character that is wonderful and so iconic, but is defined by cartoon conceits in the [original] movie... and expanding on that, giving him dimension, making him human."

Beauty and the Beast opens on March 17. Watch the official trailer for the film below.
 

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