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 Franklin Graham, the North Carolina-based son of evangelist
preacher Billy Graham and president of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association, called for the boycott in a Facebook
post on Thursday. By Friday the post had been shared more than
88,000 times, and a movie theater in Alabama said it will not
screen the film.
"They’re trying to push the LGBT agenda into the hearts and
minds of your children - watch out!," Graham wrote.
Graham said Disney was making an attempt to "normalize this
(gay) lifestyle."
Earlier this week, the film's director, Bill Condon, told
British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude that the movie will
feature a gay character - LeFou, the goofy sidekick to main
villain Gaston - for the first time in Disney's history.
Walt Disney Co, which has long been known for its animated
movies and other films aimed at families, did not immediately
return requests for comment on Friday.
The movie, a live-action remake of Disney's animated classic
film, will begin its worldwide rollout on March 16. Starring
Emma Watson as young Belle who falls in love with a
horrific-looking man, it is one of the most buzzed about movies
of the spring. According to some box office analysts, it could
bring in upwards of $100 million in North America on its opening
weekend.
"I hope Christians everywhere will say no to Disney," Graham
said in his Facebook post, asking supporters to let Disney know
their feelings about the movie.
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Film director Condon told Attitude magazine that the character of
LeFou will come to terms with his sexuality, and said the ending of
the movie brings a payoff and "a nice, exclusively gay moment in a
Disney movie."
The owners of the Henagar Drive-In Theatre in Henagar, Alabama,
announced their decision to boycott the film in a Facebook post on
Thursday. Describing themselves as Christian, the owners said: "We
will not compromise on what the Bible teaches."
"If we can not take our 11 year old grand daughter and 8 year old
grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it," they
wrote. "If I can't sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by
me then we have no business showing it."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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