Disney announced on Tuesday that it had removed a transgender plot point from Win or Lose, an eight-episode Pixar streaming series that premieres in February.
“We acknowledge that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a Disney representative stated in a statement on animated entertainment aimed at a younger demographic.
According to the corporation, references to the transgender character’s gender identity have been eliminated, but the character will still appear in the program. Near the end of the season, there is a change that only affects a few lines of dialogue.
Each episode of Win or Lose focuses on a different character’s point of view and follows a coed middle school softball team as they prepare for a major game. Will Forte, a former cast member of Saturday Night Live, and Ian Chen, an actor from Fresh Off the Boat, provide the voices of the animated comedy.
The 18-year-old transgender actor who voiced the character, Chanel Stewart, expressed disapproval of the storyline change.
“I was really disappointed,” Stewart told the Hollywood news website Deadline. Disney called her mother Monday night to inform her of the change, Stewart said the publication.
“I was thrilled to share my story to empower other trans youth as soon as I received the script,” Stewart stated. I was aware that this would be a crucial discussion. Transgender stories are important and should be heard.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that he wants the firm to steer clear of politically charged topics. We’re not interested in infusing messaging, Iger stated in an early April interview with CNBC. We must be amusing.
Disney has occasionally been at the epicenter of broader American cultural conflicts in recent years, most notably during the reign of Bob Chapek, Iger’s brief predecessor.
Employees chastised Chapek in 2022 for seemingly remaining silent on what they claimed was Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law, which restricted classroom discourse on LGBTQ matters. Conservatives then blasted Chapek for officially opposing the measure.
The same year, conservative activists assailed 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 partly around a gay teenager.
Disney has persisted in including LGBTQ characters and themes into adult-oriented programming, such as the FX series Pose, which concluded in 2021, and the Searchlight Pictures movies All of Us Strangers and Fire Island.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report on the Win or Lose storyline decision. Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who collaborated on Toy Story 4 and Inside Out 2 among other Pixar productions, co-created the show.
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