Disney Removes Transgender Storyline from Pixar’s ‘Win or Lose,’ Citing Parental Preferences

‘Win or Lose’ is an upcoming animated series by Pixar, set to premiere on Disney+ on February 19, 2025. It follows a middle school softball team, the Pickles, in the week before their championship game, showing each player’s perspective with unique animation styles.

Created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, the series explores themes of love, rivalry, and life challenges through an eight-episode run. The series features a cast that includes Will Forte, Ian Chen, Izaac Wang, Jo Firestone, Milan Ray, Josh Thomson, Erin Keif, and Rosie Foss.

The story was supposed to feature a transgender-themed story arc in the latter episodes, but according to THR, it was removed ahead of release.

A Disney spokesperson confirmed the story arc was removed and shared a statement:

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.

Source

The character will stay in the show, but lines about gender identity have been removed, a decision made months ago. Disney gave no further details. The company has faced criticism before over LGBTQ+ storylines in its animated content. The most famous example of this is the same-sex relationship in ‘Lightyear,’ an animated movie that notably flopped.

There’s also that incident of animators being forced to make ‘Inside Out 2’ “less gay” following the aforementioned scandal with the same-sex kiss in ‘Lightyear.’

The character whose story arc in ‘Win or Lose’ was changed is voiced by Chanel Stewart, a transgender actress. Disney informed Stewart, now 18, about the decision on Monday night.

Speaking to Deadline on Tuesday, she said she was “very disheartened.” Stewart, who won the role at age 14 through a casting call for a trans actress, added, “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.”

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