Alabama drive-in won’t show ‘Beauty and the Beast’ reboot over gay character
LOS ANGELES — A human-beast love story? That’s perfectly fine. But a comedic sidekick with a subtle romantic interest in the same sex? Hold everything.
A drive-in movie theater in rural northeastern Alabama said it will not show Disney’s new version of “Beauty and the Beast” because it has a gay character.
“We will not compromise on what the Bible teaches,” the Henagar Drive-In said in a Facebook post Thursday night. “You can feel free to come watch wholesome movies without worrying about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language.”
It was unclear whether Disney ever intended to show the film in Henagar, Ala., population 2,344, or whether the drive-in was acting pre-emptively. Disney did not respond to a query.
Carol Laney, who owns the theater with her husband, cited their religious beliefs as she explained Friday why they opposed the film.
“I have family members that are homosexuals. I have a relationship with them. I love them. It does not mean I’m a bigot,” she said in a telephone interview. “I’m not judging them when I tell you that God’s word says this, that’s not me. That’s God’s word.”
The owners are censoring a film they have not seen: Laney said they had only seen a trailer and an article that mentioned the gay character. The re-imagined “Beauty and the Beast,” directed by Bill Condon, will not be distributed anywhere by Disney until March 17. But Condon created an online dust-up this week when he told a British magazine that a supporting character, LeFou, played by Josh Gad, has “a nice, exclusively gay moment” at the end of the film.
For much of the movie, Gad plays the character as a slightly effeminate man with a pretty obvious crush on the dashing villain Gaston. (LeFou is basically Gaston’s lackey.) The moment Condon appeared to reference comes in the final scene, when (spoiler alert) LeFou is shown — for about 3 seconds — dancing with another fellow.
The Henagar Drive-In Facebook page was flooded with more than 1,300 comments on Friday. Many supported its ban. The majority of commenters, however, condemned the theater for homophobia and hypocrisy. As Chris Martinetti wrote, “A drive-in theater is so perfectly apt for your prehistoric ideologies.”
Laney, 56, said that for every negative comment, “I’m getting 20 to 30 positives,” and she was emphatic that she would not change her mind about the film.
“My salvation is not here on this earth. My salvation is in heaven. And that’s who has got my back. God has my back, and I’m not going to rethink my position now or ever,” she said.
“God has my back, and I’m not going to rethink my position now or ever.” – CAROL LANEY, THEATER OWNER