Alabama Movie Theater Cancels 'Beauty And The Beast' Showing Over Gay Character
A movie theater in Henagar, Alabama is refusing to show the biggest film of the month, Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."
The reason? The theater owner doesn't want customers to see a film that has a gay character in it.
(In case you didn't hear, Josh Gad's character, Le Fou, is the first openly gay character in a Disney blockbuster.)
According to a post on the Henagar Drive-In Theatre's Facebook page, the owners of the theater are flat-out refusing to show the much-anticipated film because they will "not compromise on wha the Bible teaches."
In the Facebook post, an owner wrote,
It is with great sorrow that I have to tell our customers that we will not be showing Beauty and the Beast at the Henagar Drive-In when it comes out. When companies continually force their views on us we need to take a stand. We all make choices and I am making mine. For those that do not know 'Beauty and the Beast' is 'premiering' their first homosexual character. The producer also says at the end of the movie 'there will be a surprise for same-sex couples'. If we can not take our 11 year old grand daughter and 8 year old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it. If I can't sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me then we have no business showing it. I know there will be some that do not agree with this decision. That's fine. We are first and foremost Christians. We will not compromise on what the Bible teaches. We will continue to show family oriented films so you can feel free to come watch wholesome movies without worrying about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language.
(But apparently the beastiality part they are fine with!)
Now, I don't know about you guys, but this seems silly for several reasons to me.
1. The "homosexuality" in "Beauty and the Beast" is extremely minimal.
Look, I'm not going to spoil anything, but I got to see this film because I'm special and get to go to press screenings.
And let me tell you, that "exclusive gay moment" Disney is praising itself for? It's so tiny you have to squint to see it.
Trust me, this film is still the same celebration of abusive heterosexual love it's always been, so the straights should feel right at home in any theater they see it in.
2. Y'all are gonna miss out on a shit-ton of money.
I'm no fortune-teller, but I don't have to be to say with confidence this film is going to make more money than you could possibly dream of.
Everyone is going to see this film. It has cross-generation appeal, AND it's Disney, AND it has Hermione? C'mon. Y'all could be rolling in that dough, but you playin'.
3. You're gonna be hard-pressed to find a movie that DOESN'T involve "sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language" in some way.
Sorry, what films exactly DO you show at your movie theater? "Toy Story"? What about that time Bo Peep implies she's about to plow Woody's wood??
And that's WAY more dirty than anything in "Beauty and the Beast" ever gets.
Face it: Unless you're going to show 120 minutes of "Sesame Street" episodes, you're not going to find a movie that doesn't trace back to one of those things.
4. Oh yeah, bigotry and hatred of people (or movies) because of who they love is wrong!
You know, kind of like the point of this movie?
Maybe try treating your fellow human beings like fellow human beings, and let the kids watch this delightful film.
Because I guarantee not one "11-year-old granddaughter" or "8-year-old grandson" who sees this film is going to care about a gay character. They just want to see the talking teapots sing.
Citations: 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' WON'T PLAY IN AL THEATRE DUE TO GAY CHARACTER (TMZ)
