Josh Adams Reflects on Disney’s First Gay Character: ‘We Needed to Go Further’

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Josh Adams, who portrayed LeFou in the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, has voiced his disappointment regarding Disney’s approach to LGBTQ+ representation. Despite being recognized as the actor behind Disney’s first openly gay character, Adams feels that both he and the studio fell short.

“Everyone should have the chance to see themselves represented on screen, and I believe we haven’t done enough for queer visibility,” he expressed in an interview with The Independent. Known for his role as the lovable snowman Olaf in Frozen, Adams reflected on his character LeFou, who was heralded by director Bill Condon as a groundbreaking depiction of gay identity.

“LeFou is a character who fluctuates between wanting to be with Gaston and grappling with his feelings for him,” Condon described in a 2017 interview. He teased an “exclusively gay moment” at the film’s conclusion, but this moment turned out to be a mere fleeting scene of two men dancing, leaving many LGBTQ+ viewers feeling underwhelmed.

Adams aligns himself with the disappointed audience, stating, “We didn’t go far enough to claim, ‘Look how brave we are.’” He lamented that the moment was framed as a significant milestone when it should have been more meaningful. “If we’re going to celebrate this, we should have done it right,” he said, emphasizing that LeFou did not represent a true gay character in a Disney film.

As a father of two daughters, Adams has become increasingly critical of the films from his childhood. “Watching these older films through the eyes of a dad reveals troubling narratives, particularly in comedies that often portray women as prizes,” he noted. He believes that the storytelling in contemporary projects, like his romantic comedy-drama Wolf Like Me, moves beyond outdated tropes of men needing to save women. “We’ve moved past that,” he asserted.

Though Adams doesn’t advocate for abandoning old films, he emphasizes the importance of contextualizing them. He believes that many stories from the past possess a depth that modern cinema often lacks, with narratives that move at a more thoughtful pace.

The live-action Beauty and the Beast was just one of several instances where Disney has made small strides toward queer representation, with a few other characters and moments appearing in various franchises. However, the call for genuine, significant LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media continues, and Adams hopes for more substantial acknowledgment in future stories.

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In summary, Josh Adams critiques Disney’s portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters, feeling that the representation has not gone far enough. As he reflects on his roles and the films he’s shared with his daughters, he advocates for more meaningful and authentic representations in media.