Russia said Tuesday that it would give
Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast
an adult-only rating due to the film's inclusion of a gay character.
Director Bill Condon last week told UK
gay glossy Attitude that Gaston's bumbling sidekick LeFou
(played by Josh Gad) would have an “exclusively gay moment” in
the film.
That revelation led State Duma deputy
Vitaly Milonov, a vocal opponent of LGBT rights, to call on the
government to ban the film, saying that it violates a Russian law
which prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda” to minors.
According to The
Guardian, the ministry of culture will instead release the
film with a 16+ rating.
Gad's gay LeFou has also led to
controversy in the United States, with an Alabama drive-in canceling
show times.
(Related: Alabama
drive-in cancels Beauty and the Beast show times over Josh Gad's gay
LeFou.)
Beauty and the Beast opens March
17.