'Beauty & The Beast' News: Disney Will Not Cut 'Gay Moment' From Film

Walt Disney Studios has pulled out "Beauty & The Beast" from Malaysia theaters. This comes after the local censorship board had requested the removal of a moment involving a homosexual character.

The country's biggest movie theater chain Golden Screens Cinemas announced on its official website on Monday that they have suspended "Beauty & The Beast" screenings at the behest of the studio. Additionally, those who had already bought advanced screening tickets, as well as tickets for a related event, will be given refunds.

Disney has remained steadfast in keeping the said scene despite requests from the Film Censorship Board in Malaysia to remove it. "The film has not been and will not be cut for Malaysia," Disney said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg. The board will give "Beauty & The Beast" a P13 rating if the scene is removed.

The studio, however, clarified that it is only pulling out "Beauty & The Beast" in theaters in Malaysia temporarily. They instead decided to have the release date of the film in the country, where it has strict laws against homosexuality, moved to March 30. This is so that the board will be given more time to deliberate and decide on whether or not to release the film without the changes they had asked for.

"Beauty & The Beast" director Bill Condon disclosed two weeks ago that the character LeFou (played by Josh Gad), the sidekick of Gaston, was gay. He described the character as someone who "wants to be Gaston" in one day, and "wants to kiss Gaston" in the next, according to Attitude. "He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings," he explained.

In spite of issues about its release in several film markets such as Malaysia and Russia, the film is still expected to rake in around $200 million in its box office debut worldwide, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Beauty & The Beast" will be released in theaters in the United States on March 17.