Disney cuts transgender storyline from upcoming Pixar show

A transgender storyline has been cut from an upcoming Pixar TV series, a Disney spokesperson has confirmed.

Pixar original animated series ‘Win or Lose’ is set to be released in February on the streaming service Disney+. Following a co-ed softball team at a middle school, the show’s format will focus on a different team member each episode in the group’s run up to a big championship game.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that an episode focusing on a transgender character has been axed. A Disney spokesperson said: “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.”

While the episode has been removed, Disney has confirmed that the character will remain in the show. However, they’ve been relegated to a background role with few lines and all references to their gender identity cut.

This is the latest development in a trend of Disney executives trying to remove LGBTQ+ themes from the company’s output.

Following Florida passing legislation known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022, then-CEO Bob Chapek made a statement about “creating a more inclusive world… through the inspiring content we produce.” That, however, was heavily criticised by LGBTQ+ members of Pixar.

The Pixar workers released a letter that stated Disney corporate had forced them to reduce much of the LGBTQ+ content from their stories. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

Box office impact

Both Pixar’s Lightyear and Disney Animation’s Strange World were strongly attacked for featuring LGBTQ+ characters. To many, it appeared that Disney pinned the two films’ lack of global commercial success on that element.

There have also been allegations that an episode of Disney show ‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ was removed for its focus on a transgender character. Disney has claimed that the episode was put on hold for reasons aside from the character.

Chanel Stewart, the actor who was meant to play the transgender character in ‘Win or Lose’, first saw the callout for the show in 2020. The then-14-year-old spoke to Deadline about the experience of getting the job.

“I wore it as a badge. I wore it with pride. I wore it with honour because it meant so much to me. The thought of authentically portraying a transgender teenage girl made me really happy. I wanted to make this for transgender kids like me,” she said.

On hearing the news from Disney that her character’s plot had been removed, Stewart said she was “very disheartened.”

Stewart couldn’t say much about the rewrite but has confirmed that “my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl”.

In response, Stewart’s mother Keisha also said: “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. And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”