Ewan McGregor Blasts Anti-Gay Critics Of ‘Beauty And The Beast’

Ewan McGregor gives his two cents on the “gay moment” in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast film that is causing some to boycott the film.

EWAN MCGREGOR ON BEAUTY AND THE BEAST GAY CONTROVERSY

“It’s like, he’s a gay character and it’s 2017 for f–ks sake,” the actor said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. McGregor plays Lumière, a talking candlestick. The controversy they are discussing is about the villain Gaston’s sidekick LeFou, who admits he is unsure of his sexuality in a brief moment.

Disney has already pulled the film from premiering in Malaysia because the censors did not approve the moment. “There’s a lot of gay sex in this cartoon,” McGregor joked with Colbert. “And I think if you live anywhere near Alabama you should not go and see this film. What would Jesus think?” The actor was referring to a specific theater in the state that canceled screenings of the film after director Bill Condon‘s comments.

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

Condon has since said the media and conservative population have massively “overblown” his comment. Other co-stars have also responded to the backlash.

Emma Watson, who plays the lead Belle, said people should not go in expecting LeFou’s sexuality to be a major plot point. “I don’t want people going into this movie thinking that there’s like a huge narrative there,” she said. “There really isn’t. It’s incredibly subtle, and it’s kind of a play on having the audience go, ‘Is it, or is it not?’ I think it’s fun. I love the ambiguity there.”