Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Josh Gad is "proud" to have played a gay LeFou in Beauty and the Beast.
The 38-year-old actor responded in an interview with Radio Andy published Wednesday to backlash toward his portrayal of the character in the Disney live-action movie.
LeFou is shown dancing with another man during the final scenes of Beauty and the Beast, released in 2017. The moment caused outrage and got the movie banned in several countries.
"We decided that LeFou's happy ending would be to dance with another man, [and] that became such a controversial thing apparently, even though it was three seconds of screen time," Gad said.
"We never put a spotlight on it, we never meant to put a spotlight on it. I think the director, Bill Condon, was very proud of the moment," he added. "The movie speaks for itself, and that moment speaks for itself."
Gad said he personally pitched the idea of having LeFou be gay.
"I was so amazed that they let us do it," the actor said. "But again, never meant to shine a spotlight on it. Wanted the audience to see it and take away what they would. It just became a conflated, weird controversy."
"I was so proud of it," he added. "We were so proud of the response, because in light of the fact that there were so many people [complaining], there were so many people who stood up and applauded that moment and were so excited about it."
Gad said he hopes Disney will feature more LGBT characters the future.
"I think there's still a lot more work to be done in terms of equal representation, and I really hope Disney keeps finding more ways to do that," he said.
Gad most recently voiced the snowman Olaf in Frozen 2, which opened in theaters last week. He said on Wednesday's episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that his daughters, 8-year-old Ava and 5-year-old Isabella, loved the new movie.
"They absolutely freaked out. Loved it," the actor said. "When they saw this, my oldest one looks at me through gritted teeth and she goes, 'When can I see it again? I liked it more than the first one.' I'm like, 'Thanks. I didn't ask you for your review, but thank you.'"
