LeFou as a Gay Man in Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Apparently, it’s been confirmed that LeFou in Disney’s remake of Beauty and the Beast, played by actor Josh Gad, will be the first openly gay character in Disney film.

Unsurprisingly, LeFou’s portrayal as a gay man has generated a wave of controversy, with Russia considering a ban of the film and with a drive-in theatre in Alabama refusing to air the film.

Here’s my yay / nay regarding LeFou’s portrayal in the movie:

Yay
Needless to say, this marks a watershed moment in Disney filmmaking. Disney’s viewership consists largely of young children, hence in maintaining its appeal to such a target demographic, the corporation has long sought to shy away from controversy by constructing “innocent” movie plots. Hence, it does indeed mean a HUGE deal that the LGBTQ+ community is finally being recognized in the Disney arena.

What I find especially brilliant is that according to Gad, in the film, it’s not explicitly confirmed that LeFou is gay. Rather, LeFou seems to struggle navigating his sexuality, oscillating between his reverence for Gatson as a hyper-masculine and hetereosexual man and his deep-seated desire to kiss Gatson. Gad seemed to have improvised LeFou’s portrayal as a gay man as he stated, "There was nothing in the script that said ‘LeFou is gay.’” In another interview, Gad further explained, “He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings."

Nay
Be it in the original Beauty and the Beast or in the remake, LeFou, is still reduced to comic relief. The Daily Dot made a very valid point about how LeFou’s role as “the fool” or “the madman” serves as a direct contrast to Gatson’s role as a embodiment of “heterosexual masculinity”. To me, LeFou’s role is rather auxiliary and primarily serves to glorify Gatson’s portrayal.

In my opinion, the constant humiliation and degrading of LeFou doesn’t portray the LGBTQ+ community in the best light. Personally, I would have preferred it if Gatson, instead of LeFou, was portrayed as gay - a story of a man who experiences both internal and external pressure to conform to the mould of heteromasculinity, but struggles to break out of that stereotype.

On an interesting note, BuzzFeed argues that LeFou and Gatson were both gay all along (please excuse the vulgar language). In the article, Buzzfeed Staff Mathew Guiver argues that Gatson’s outward projection of hypermasculinity and his pursuit of Belle was simply a mask for his homosexuality, and a means to derail suspicion from his relationship with LeFou. Could this be true?

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All in all, I guess this addition of a gay character in Beauty and the Beast isn’t perfect, but at least it’s a start.