Evangelical proponents are calling for a boycott of Disney’s blockbuster “Beauty and the Beast”, citing immorality as the movie is promoting “gay sex”, something Christians believes is a no-no according the Holy Bible.
Despite the religious backlash, “Beauty and the Beast” starred by Emma Watson raked in a record breaking $1 billion at the box office since its released four weeks ago.
Domestic: $454,649,751 43.6% + Foreign: $588,400,000 56.4% = Worldwide: $1,043,049,751
That’s an absulte success measured by any standard. The movie costs $160 million to make.
So, what is causing the evangelicals as well as certain holy-than thou countires to call for a ban on what is supposed to be a family orientated movie?
“Beauty and the Beast” is rated PG by Motion Picture Rating (MPAA) for some action violence, peril and frightening images
Apparently this is problem: –
Controversies – Gay Subplot
In the film, LeFou was said to be given a “gay moment” by director Bill Condon when LeFou briefly waltzes with Stanley, one of Gaston’s friends. In an interview with Vulture.com, Condon stated, “Can I just say, I’m sort of sick of this. Because you’ve seen the movie — it’s such a teeny thing, and it’s been overblown.” Condon also added that Beauty and the Beast features much more diversity than just the highly-talked-about LeFou: “That was so important. We have interracial couples — this is a celebration of everybody’s individuality, and that’s what’s exciting about it.” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis praised the move stating, “It is a small moment in the film, but it is a huge leap forward for the film industry.”
In Russia, Vitaly Milonov agitated the culture minister for banning the film, but instead it was given a 16+ rating (children under the age of 16 can only be admitted to see it in theaters with accompanying adults).[159] Additionally, a theater in Henagar, Alabama did not screen the film because of the subplot. In Malaysia, the Film Censorship Board insisted the “gay moment” scene be cut, prompting an indefinite postponement of its release by Disney, followed by their decision to withdraw it completely if it could not be released uncensored. The studio moved the release date to March 30, to allow more time for Malaysia’s censor board to make a decision on whether or not to release the film without changes. The distributors and producers then submitted an appeal to the Film Appeal Committee of Malaysia, which allowed the film to be released without any cuts and a P13 rating on the grounds that the “gay element” was minor and didn’t affect the positive elements featured in the film. In Kuwait, the movie was withdrawn from cinemas by National Cinema Company which owns most of the cinemas in the country. A board member of the company stated that the Ministry of Information’s censorship department had requested it to stop its screening and edit it for things deemed offensive by it.
There were also a number of boycotts against the film, citing Disney introduced a lot of “Gay Sex” in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. A call to boycott on LifePetitions received over 129,000 signatures, while the American Family Association featured a petition to boycott with over 50,000 signers.
Controversy erupts over gay scene in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as theater drops film
The much-publicized, but blink-and-you-miss-it gay moment in the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” has gotten the film banned from at least movie theater after evangelical leader Franklin Graham called for a boycott of Disney.
The new owners of the Henagar Drive-In Theatre in Henagar, Ala., told its patrons in a Facebook post that for religious reasons, it needed to take a stand when “companies continually force their views on us.”
“If we can not take our 11 year old grand daughter and 8 year old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it. If I can’t sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me then we have no business showing it,” the owner writes. “We are first and foremost Christians. We will not compromise on what the Bible teaches. We will continue to show family oriented films so you can feel free to come watch wholesome movies without worrying about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language.”
Graham, the son of legendary televangelist Billy Graham, is outraged over both “Beauty and the Beast” as well as a same-sex kissing scene in Disney XD’s animated “Star vs. the Forces of Evil,” saying the company is trying to “normalize this lifestyle” and “push the LGBT agenda into the hearts and minds of your children.” He says Disney “has the right to make their cartoons, it’s a free country. But as Christians we also have the right not to support their company.”
However, the controversy over “Beauty and the Beast” — may be something of a tempest in Mrs. Potts’ teapot.
There’s ‘a lot of gay sex’ in Beauty and the Beast, says Ewan McGregor
Spoiler alert: The controversial scene in question occurs at the very end of the film when LeFou, the sidekick of villainous Gaston, changes partners and finds himself happily dancing with another young man. At various points in the film, LeFou does seem to be harboring a crush on Gaston — but that’s certainly not overstated.
The film’s director, Bill Condon, has said that he chose to make the character of LeFou, played by Josh Gad, gay because the original animated film’s late lyricist Howard Ashman saw the Beast’s ostracism as an AIDS metaphor.
“He was cursed, and this curse had brought sorrow on all those people who loved him, and maybe there was a chance for a miracle and a way for the curse to be lifted,” Condon told a gay magazine earlier this year.
He says Gad plays LeFou as someone who is just realizing he’s gay. “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He’s confused about what he wants … And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it.”
Meanwhile,
Disney airs its first-ever same-sex cartoon kiss
Heartbreak is real — even for cartoon characters. In a new episode of Disney XD’s “Star vs the Forces of Evil,” Star Butterfly is crushed when her boy-BFF Marco smooches another girl. But that’s not why the internet’s buzzing!
It was so nonchalant that it’s almost unnoticeable: The scene was the first-ever Disney cartoon to include a same-sex kiss. In fact, there were two.
In the episode, a One Direction-esque boyband launches into a rendition of their hit song “Just Friends.” 14-year-old Star and Marco (who are, of course, just friends themselves — for now!) are rocking out.
Suddenly, Star notices that she and Marco are surrounded by kissing couples. Among them are a gay couple and a lesbian one.
https://youtu.be/9n5ACBivlcg
The landmark cartoon moment is lost on Star (voiced by “The Middle”‘s Eden Sher), who is just alarmed to turn around and see Marco locking lips with another girl! Has she been secretly crushing on him all along? We’ve all been there.
Heartbreak is real — even for cartoon characters. In a new episode of Disney XD’s “Star vs the Forces of Evil,” Star Butterfly is crushed when her boy-BFF Marco smooches another girl. But that’s not why the internet’s buzzing!
It was so nonchalant that it’s almost unnoticeable: The scene was the first-ever Disney cartoon to include a same-sex kiss. In fact, there were two.
In the episode, a One Direction-esque boyband launches into a rendition of their hit song “Just Friends.” 14-year-old Star and Marco (who are, of course, just friends themselves — for now!) are rocking out.
Suddenly, Star notices that she and Marco are surrounded by kissing couples. Among them are a gay couple and a lesbian one.
The landmark cartoon moment is lost on Star (voiced by “The Middle”‘s Eden Sher), who is just alarmed to turn around and see Marco locking lips with another girl! Has she been secretly crushing on him all along? We’ve all been there.
What is happening, Disney is promoting LGBT culture as a way of life?