I was kind of shocked that this was a big deal. From taking my kids to see a re-release of it in the theater when they were little, I got the impression the bully-Gaston guy's little toadie was implied as being probably gay and in love with him in the original 90's animated version. (shrug)
That's because our culture has decided that any expression of affection between two people (regardless of their respective sex) means sexual attraction, mainly because our culture (for all it's claims about "freedom") is absolutely obsessed with sex.
Admiration (even slobbering admiration, like from LeFou) has long been a part of society:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVNHcob3oJg (I could have linked to more heroic things all the way back to Greeks and Romans, but rather than step into THAT argument, I picked a more clear example.)
Of course, today, the little dog is clearly just gay. Because everything is about sex.