Ewan McGregor was on the Late Show last night talking to Stephen Colbert about his latest movie Beauty and the Beast. When Colbert asked McGregor about the current controversy concerning the gay character of LeFou in the movie, Ewan had some poignant comments concerning the entire outrage.

“It’s just like, he’s a gay character. It’s 2017, for f**k’s sake.”

Colbert also mentioned to Ewan McGregor that there was some talk about the Henager Drive-In Theatre in Alabama that refused to show Beauty and the Beast because of “homosexual” elements. The owners of that theater took to Facebook to say that Disney was forcing their views on people and they won’t show it because they would not “compromise on what the Bible teaches.”

Ewan McGregor laughed off the Beauty and the Beast gay controversy and mockingly said that no one in Alabama should see the movie. McGregor then finished with “what would Jesus think?”

[Image by Walt Disney Studios]

Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney movie to ever feature a character who is gay, and that has a lot of religious groups calling for a boycott of the film. Director Bill Condon is the person who actually set off the firestorm when he said that LeFou (played by Josh Gad) has a “nice, exclusively gay moment” in Beauty and the Beast.

Condon said that LeFou has moments in Beauty and the Beast where he wants to be Gaston (the villain, played by Luke Evans) and then has other days where he wants to “kiss Gaston.” He is confused and has many feelings in the movie but Condon emphasized that this is a celebration of love and nothing more.

Ewan McGregor, who plays the candelabra Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, has never had a problem with playing a homosexual himself in movies and often dismisses anyone who talks down about LGBT issues. Over his career, Ewan McGregor has played gay or bisexual characters in movies like I Love You Philip Morris, The Pillow Book, and Velvet Goldmine.

Interestingly, most of the people who are outraged at the Beauty and the Beast gay controversy didn’t seem to have a problem with the bestiality storyline from the original films. As for Ewan McGregor, he would prefer that people just focus on the movie and story and not over any perceived “forcing of views” onto people.

[Image by Walt Disney Studios]

While the owners of the Henager Drive-In Theatre stated that they would never allow their 11-year-old and 8-year-old grandchildren to watch this Beauty and the Beast movie, Ewan McGregor told Entertainment Weekly that he has no problems with his daughters seeing Beauty and the Beast.

“I’ve got four girls. My eldest is in her twenties now, of course, but still I’ve got a little one, who’s 5, and when an opportunity like this comes along, to be in a film they will watch, then it’s nice.”

That Ewan McGregor interview was given before the Beauty and the Beast gay controversy ever started up. At that time, Ewan said that he was just happy to be singing in a movie again, with a big musical number that was similar to what he had the opportunity to do in the musical Moulin Rouge.

Emma Watson said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she feels that the homosexuality from Beauty and the Beast is very subtle and, similar to Ewan McGregor, feels it has been blown out of proportion by the media.

“I don’t want people going into this movie thinking that there’s like a huge narrative there. There really isn’t. It’s incredibly subtle, and it’s kind of a play on having the audience go, ‘Is it, or is it not?’ I think it’s fun. I love the ambiguity there.”

While The Hollywood Reporter saw an early screening of the film and said that there will be controversy in what they called “rabid red-state homophobes,” Ewan McGregor just addressed the Beauty and the Beast gay controversy as people living in the past. Ewan reminded everyone that it is 2017 right now.

[Featured Image by Walt Disney Studios]