Tug of war between Disney and Malaysia on ‘Le Fou’ love bites

To the Malaysian Censorship Board (LPF), Disney went too far in promoting same-sex on screen in a movie destined mainly for children by incorporating a scene when the gay character shows love bites on his tummy.

The LFP chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid reportedly told AFP that he would have brought his children to watch the movie, Beauty and The Beast, but since he does not support LGBT, the scene had to be removed.

He said: “But there are rules. We don’t support LGBT.”

The chairman went on saying the way Le Fou, the gay character on the movie, dances like a ‘gay’ and that the dialogue and the lyrics of the song are too.

The Walt Disney Co (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has lodged an appeal with the Home Ministry to overturn LPF’s decision to cut the “gay moment” in the film.

Malaysia is not the only country that went against the gay element in the movie.

Across the world, religious groups said they were angered by its depiction of Le Fou as a gay man, making him Disney’s first ever out LGBT character.

Disney has now postponed the Malaysian release of the film indefinitely, angering more Malaysians in the process.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, where laws criminalising sodomy can result in imprisonment, corporal punishment and fines.

The Star newspaper said religious groups and Islamic scholars had previously called for the film to be banned over concerns that it would promote “negative values” in the country.

The film has also come under fire from religious figures in Singapore, and even Russia slapped an adults-only rating on the movie.