CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Evangelist Franklin Graham joined the fight against the new “Beauty and the Beast” film that will feature Disney’s first openly gay character.
Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, took to Facebook Thursday morning to condemn the movie and Disney’s “attempt to normalize” the lifestyle.
The post reads:
Disney has aired a cartoon with same-sex couples kissing. It has also been announced that their new movie “Beauty and the Beast” will feature a gay character in an attempt to normalize this lifestyle. They’re trying to push the LGBT agenda into the hearts and minds of your children—watch out! Disney has the right to make their cartoons, it’s a free country. But as Christians, we also have the right not to support their company. I hope Christians everywhere will say no to Disney. I met Walt Disney when I was a young boy—he was very gracious to me, my father Billy Graham, and my younger brother when we visited. He would be shocked at what has happened to the company that he started.
Actor Josh Gad plays LeFou, who is bullied by his friend Gaston in the film, has a crush on the film’s pompous ladies’ man.
“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” Director Bill Condon tells Attitude Magazine,
The remake has sparked controversy all over the country. Owners of the Henagar Drive-in Theatre in Alabama say they are taking a stand and banning the movie from their establishment.
“If we can not take our 11-year-old granddaughter and 8-year-old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it,” they wrote in a Facebook post. “If I can’t sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me then we have no business showing it.”
One Russian lawmaker also urged the country’s government ban the movie after labeling it “a blatant, shameless propaganda of sin and perverted sexual relationships.”
The post has more than 150,000 likes and 95,000 shares.
The movie is set to be released on March 17.
Official trailer of live-action “Beauty and the Beast:”
