Yahoo Lifestyle Disney Pulls Transgender Storyline From New Pixar Series Win or Lose
The forthcoming Pixar series Win or Lose has nixed a previously planned storyline involving a transgender character.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which was first to break the news, the Disney+ original has scrubbed “a few lines of dialogue” from an episode that referenced a character’s gender identity. A Disney spokesperson confirmed the change in a statement to TVLine, noting that, “when it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
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“I was very disheartened,” transgender actress Chanel Stewart, who voiced the character in question, told our sister site Deadline after receiving the news from Disney on Monday night. “From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
“It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life,” added Stewart’s mother, Keisha. “I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact. There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented. Everyone deserves to be recognized.”
Stewart said Disney assured her she is “still a part of the show heavily,” but that her character “would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl.”
Win or Lose, which marks Pixar’s first original series not spun-off from one of its feature films, “reveals what it feels like to be in the shoes of eight different characters — the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire — as they prepare for a championship softball game,” according to the official logline. Saturday Night Live veteran Will Forte voices the team’s coach.
Per THR, the studio made the decision to alter the transgender storyline “months ago.” The series was initially slated for release on Dec. 6, but was pushed back earlier this fall.
The animated series — which hails from writers/directors/executive producers Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates — will now arrive on the service Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. A previously released trailer, which touts the original release date, can be seen above.
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