'Beauty And The Beast' Movie: Petition Launched Against ‘Exclusively Gay Moment’ In Upcoming Disney Film

The upcoming live-action “Beauty and the Beast” adaptation will feature Disney’s first “exclusively gay moment” in a film and some people are not happy. An online petition started Thursday designed to send a strong message to Disney that children’s entertainment is no place to promote a harmful sexual political agenda,” had exceeded its initial goal of 50,000 signatures by Friday afternoon.

In an interview for the April edition of British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude, the film’s director, Bill Condon, discussed the character of LeFou (played by Josh Gad) and his relationship with his best friend Gaston (portrayed by Luke Evans).

“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” Condon said.

“He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its payoff at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.”

Gad confirmed the news on Twitter Tuesday, adding he was “beyond proud of this.”

The revelation followed an episode of Disney show “Star vs. the Forces of Evil” last week, which featured the first-ever same-sex kiss in a Disney cartoon. While many are hailing the developments as a positive step forward for Disney in representing the LGBT community, others are pushing back.

The anonymous author of the petition accused Disney of bowing to pressure from LGBTQ activists and threatened to boycott future Disney products.

“I pledge to boycott both the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ movie, and other Disney films and products, until such a time as Disney commits itself to protecting, not harming, the innocence of our children.”

The stance was shared by evangelist Franklin Graham, who gave a reading at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

“They’re trying to push the LGBT agenda into the hearts and minds of your children—watch out!” Graham wrote on Facebook. “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. I hope Christians everywhere will say no to Disney.”

Meanwhile, a drive-in theater in Alabama has announced that it will not be screening “Beauty and the Beast,” which opens March 17.

“When companies continually force their views on us we need to take a stand,” read a post on the theater’s Facebook page. “We all make choices and I am making mine.”