In Malaysia, Disney’s controversy with the “gay moment” in Beauty and the Beast has ended as the government agreed for the film to be screened without any cuts. The government had previously refused to screen the film after Disney objected to the government’s censorship requests. The movie has now received the Malaysian equivalent of a PG13 rating and will be shown in theaters nationwide beginning on March 30.
Golden Screen Cinemas, one of the nation’s two largest theater chains, revealed today on Facebook that the movie will be screened in full and free of any censorship.
They wrote: “This is official from Disney. No cuts. PG13. 30 March. GET YOURSELF READY!”
TGV Cinemas followed suit with a similar declaration on Twitter, announcing advance sales this week.
The controversy exploded after the film’s director Bill Condon revealed in an interview that LeFou, played by actor Josh Gad, would have an “exclusively gay moment” in the film where he reveled in his sexuality. As we’ve observed, the so-called “gay moment” consists of nothing more than a little dance at the end of the film when he first dances with a straight woman and switches over to dancing with another man. That’s it.
The reversal of the ban is good news for Beauty and the Beast, which earned $174.8 million in North American theaters over the weekend. It’s also raked in $180 million in foreign markets, bringing the grand total to $350 million worldwide. The Malaysian market isn’t big, but the extra earnings won’t hurt.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.