Disney removes transgender storyline from upcoming Pixar streaming series

Disney pulled a transgender storyline from “Win or Lose,” an eight-episode Pixar streaming series debuting in February, the company said Tuesday.

“When it comes to animated content for younger audiences,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement, “we recognize that many parents prefer to discuss certain topics with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

The transgender character will remain in the show, but references to the character’s gender identity have been removed, the company said. The change involves “just a few lines of dialogue” near the end of the season.

“Win or Lose” centers on a middle school softball team in the run-up to a big game, with each episode focusing on a different character’s perspective. The animated series features the voices of “Saturday Night Live” alum Will Forte and “Fresh Off the Boat” actor Ian Chen.

The story change drew criticism from Chanel Stewart, an 18-year-old transgender actress who voiced the transgender character.

“I was very discouraged,” Stewart told Deadlinean entertainment news website. Stewart told the publication that Disney called her mother Monday night to tell her about the change.

“From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth,” Stewart said. “I knew this was going to be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter and they deserve to be heard.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he wants the company to move away from themes that could be perceived as political. “Infusion of messages is not what we’re into,” Iger said in an interview with CNBC in early April. “We have to be entertaining.”

In recent years, Disney has sometimes found itself at the center of broader American culture wars, particularly during the tenure of Iger’s short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek.

Chapek was criticized by staff in 2022 after he appeared to remain silent on what critics called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that limited discussion of LGBTQ issues in the classroom, and then accused by conservatives, as he ultimately publicly opposed the bill.

That same year, conservative activists attacked Disney for including LGBTQ characters in two animated family films: Pixar’s “Lightyear” depicted a brief same-sex kiss, and Disney Animation’s “Strange World” revolved in part about a gay teenager.

Disney has continued to feature LGBTQ characters and themes in adult content, including the Searchlight Pictures films “All of Us Strangers” and “Fire Island” and the FX series “Pose,” which ended in 2021.

The decision on the “Win or Lose” story was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The show was created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who worked on previous Pixar projects like “Toy Story 4” and “Inside Out 2.”