Disney has removed a storyline focused on a transgender character from the upcoming Pixar series Win or Lose.
The animated show, which is set to arrive on Disney+ on February 19, 2025, follows a co-ed middle school softball team.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, 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.”
The character wil remain in the show, but several lines of dialogue that referenced gender identity have reportedly been removed.
The series, in which comedian Will Forte voices Coach Dan, tells the story of a middle school softball team named the Pickles in the week leading up to their championship game. Each of the eight episodes are set to focus on the off-the-field life of an individual character — including players, a parent, a coach, and an umpire.
Disney and Pixar have come under scrutiny for their handling of LGBTQ+ storylines before.
In September, a report by IGN claimed that Pixar executives had sought to squash LGBTQ+ plotlines in Inside Out 2 during the making of the film. The instruction, claimed the report, was to make the film “less gay”.
Back in 2022, Walt Disney World became embroiled in a feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after the company criticized the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District later approved a settlement between allies of Ron DeSantis and Disney that apparently brought that feud to an end.
After the “Don’t Say Gay” law passed in 2022, reporters from The Independent and other outlets found that Disney entities and affiliates contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the GOP lawmakers who championed the law, despite the company’s history of LGBTQ+ advocacy.
However, several Disney stars spoke out against the law. Oscar Isaac, who stars in Marvel’s Moon Knight, criticized the “ridiculous law” in a statement to Variety.
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“It’s insane. It’s insanity. And I hope that Disney as a company comes out as forcefully as possible against this idea. It’s astounding that it even exists in this country,” the 43-year-old Oscar nominee said.
Late night TV show host John Oliver, who voices Zazu in Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King, called the company “morally bankrupt” for donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican senators backing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“Marginalized creators have made billions of dollars for Disney,” Oliver said. “Now, should it embarrass them that it took them until this week to realize that they shouldn’t take that money and use it to actively undermine those creators’ interests? Who’s to say? I’ll tell you. I am. I’m Zazu, remember?”
