Like it or not, Disney's live-action remake of Beauty & The Beast has a gay character. That simple fact has caused an entire country to consider banning the movie and an Alabama drive-in to pull the plug on the film. Well, LeFou is gay and that's all the more reason for many Disney fans to excitedly await this new version of the tale as old as time. Actor Josh Gad, who plays LeFou — and who has voiced his own opinions on the matter — isn't letting the haters get him down. In fact, while promoting the film this week in Hollywood with his co-star Luke Evans (Gaston) and Alan Freakin' Menken (the composer behind the OG B&TB tunes and a slew of other Disney classics), Gad took a jab at the media for making such a big deal out of nothing.
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Nerdist reports that Menken was entertaining the press with a medley of Beauty & The Beast songs when Gad and Evans joined him onstage for "Gaston." You know, that song about how masculine and virile the awful villain is. They sing it in a tavern, and Gaston boasts about eating dozens and dozens of eggs? It's a pretty straightforward performance, with everyone looking like they're having a jolly good time. Evans looks a tad nervous, but with that handsome mug, how could we mind? And when it comes time for LeFou's verse, Gad goes a little off-script, prompting giggles from both Menken and Evans.
"And his name's G-A-S-T... I believe there's another T after the first..." Gad sings. "I can't remember because of this week's news cycle, which has been very distracting to meeeeeee..."
And that's how a musical clapback happens in a small provincial town.
Last November, Menken revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the songs you hear in the upcoming film will be familiar, but he added that the lyrics may be a little bit different. When he was first working with his partner, Howard Ashman, on the animated feature, the lines were a little more risqué. Ashman died of AIDS-related complications before the film got released. Now, Menken has decided to put some of Ashman's original ideas into the live-action remake.
"In 'Gaston,' we had a treasure trove of lyrics that Howard had written that we did not put in the movie," Menken told EW. "In many cases they were a little bit risqué — not risqué sexually, but risqué in terms of sensibility. We all felt ready to have those lyrics. When [director Bill Condon] found out about those lyrics, he said, 'Oh my god, can we please look at that, because it would be a wonderful way to add an extra freshness to the movie.' So, yes, you’re going to hear some unheard Howard Ashman lyrics."
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An example in Evan's performance? "Who plays darts like Gaston? / Who breaks hearts like Gaston? / Who’s much more than the sum of his parts like Gaston? [...] Who has brains like Gaston, entertains like Gaston? / Who can make up these endless refrains like Gaston?"
Although, we have a feeling Gad's improvised lyrics won't be appearing in the film or the DVD extras. Check out the performance below.