The controversy surrounding Disney’s live-action remake of the Beauty and the Beast is far from over.
After being banned from an Alabama theatre and given an “adults-only” rating in Russia, the movie is now ruffling feathers within the Anglican Church for its “homosexual content.”
So much so that a Singaporean bishop, Rennis Ponniah of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, published a statement this week alerting the congregation about the film’s openly “gay” subplot.
According to movie director Bill Condon, the same-sex romance involves the main villain Gaston (Luke Evans) and his sidekick LeFou, played by Josh Gad.
“Disney films for children’s entertainment are usually associated with wholesome, mainstream values. But times are changing at a foundational level,” the statement reads.
“Parents are therefore strongly advised to provide guidance to their children about this re-make of ‘Beauty & the Beast’ , and indeed to their children’s entertainment choices in a rapidly changing age” the bishop adds.
He ends the advisory by suggesting parents abide by Prov 22:6 of the Bible: ” Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
The Diocese and the National Council of Churches in Singapore are apparently working on a fuller advisory to be released in the coming week.
Disney Malaysia also announced it was canceling screenings of the film indefinitely “pending internal review,” according to The Star.
The company did not provide an explanation for why it postponed the opening date.
