An entire country postpones release of 'Beauty and the Beast' over gay character

As TheBlaze reported earlier this month, the new live-action remake of Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" has been met with controversy over its reported inclusion of a gay character and director Bill Condon's claim that the film contains a “nice, exclusively gay moment" at the end. He said the subplot involves LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, whose feelings for Gaston swing between lust and admiration.

The film was supposed to open worldwide on Thursday but has been postponed in Malaysia. A spokesperson for Disney said the company is reviewing its new release date internally but gave no specific reason.

Last week, a Russian member of Parliament petitioned to ban the entire film because of this new gay character. The country has a law that prohibits the spreading of “gay propaganda” among minors. However, the Russian government ultimately decided to allow the film's release but slapped it with a 16+ rating.

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