Children under 16 can’t see ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in Russia

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In 2013, Russia passed a federal law banning “gay propaganda” among minors. It was worded vaguely so it can be applied in a wide range of circumstances, for example, making it easy to target gay and lesbian teachers in Russia because they work directly with children. The law was modeled on a St. Petersburg bill that Milonov authored a year earlier

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The film’s brief scene in question involves the character of LeFou (Josh Gad), the timid and lovable sidekick to the preening villain Gaston (Luke Evans).

At the film’s March 2 premiere in Los Angeles, director Bill Condon suggested that describing LeFou as Disney’s first gay character went too far.

“I keep saying it’s more like the first gay moment,” he said. “Because I think it’s a very fluid character.” The director added: “You can’t help but wonder in his adoration of Gaston … (is there) something more going on?”

One Alabama drive-in theatre has cancelled plans to show the film, which opens next week and stars Emma Watson as Belle.

The Associated Press