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Disney is cancelling a transgender storyline for its new Pixar series “Win or Lose,” coming this February of 2025. An animated, sports-themed show centered around a co-ed middle school softball team leading up to their big championship game, where each episode is done through the lens of a different character.
The decision to pull the transgender storyline was to let parents explain certain things to their children in their own time and way. A Disney spokesperson says the character will still be part of the show, but references to their gender identity have been axed. The change amounts to only a few lines of dialogue toward the end of the season.
Chanel Stewart is an 18-year-old transgender actor who voiced the character in question, and she was disappointed with the decision. She had been looking forward to the storyline as an opportunity to share her journey and to help other transgender youth feel empowered. She said to Deadline, “Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
The CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, has said that the company does not aim to infuse messaging into its content. In an interview earlier this year with CNBC, he said, “.
Not for the first time, Disney has come into controversy over LGBTQ+ storylines in its animated content. In 2022, Pixar’s “Lightyear” included a same-sex relationship and kiss that caused an uproar in some overseas territories. Disney Animation’s “Strange World” also included a gay teenager, which received further criticism.
Yet despite these controversies, Disney still incorporates LGBTQ+ characters and storylines in content aimed at grown-ups. Disney’s Searchlight Pictures, for instance, released the films “All of Us Strangers” and “Fire Island,” and “Pose” was an FX series that wrapped in 2021.
This decision to change the storyline of “Win or Lose” has been met with criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and fans alike, who believe representation matters and that Disney should be more inclusive in its storytelling.
Disney’s decision to remove the transgender storyline from “Win or Lose” reflects the debate about how much representation and messaging there should be in children’s media. While some parents appreciate Disney’s approach of leaving it to them to guide conversations on sensitive topics, others feel this is a missed opportunity to use storytelling in a way that fosters understanding and acceptance.
