According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Pixar original animated series Win or Lose will no longer have a transgender storyline in later episodes of its upcoming first season. Disney has pulled the storyline from the series before its official premiere date.
Created by Michael Yates (Turning Red), Carrie Hobson (Ask the StoryBots) and David Lally (Monsters University), the series follows a co-ed middle school softball team named the Pickles and their journey in the week before their championship game. The series will consist of eight episodes that will follow the characters’ individual lives both on and off the field from their points of view.
The cast of the series includes Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth) as Coach Dan, Kyliegh Curran (The Fall of the House of Usher) as Taylor, Izaac Wang (Raya and the Last Dragon) as Yuwen, Erin Kief (Hey Riddle Riddle) as Lena, Jo Firestone (Wolfboy and the Everything Factory) as Sweaty, Josh Thomson (The New Legends of Monkey) as Frank, Milan Elizabeth Ray (The Wonder Years) as Rochelle, Rosanna Jean Foss (Criminal Minds) as Laurie and many others.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for Disney has confirmed that the story arc was removed due to the following 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.”
The characters whose story arc follows will remain in the series, but a few lines of dialogue referencing gender identity are being removed. A source close to the series stated that the studio made the changes several months ago. This is not the first time that Disney has come under scrutiny for LGBTQ+ storylines, especially when it comes to animated content.
Disney has featured LGBTQ+ content in its more live-action adult-focused series and films such as Marvel with Agatha All Along, Searchlight Pictures’ All of Us Strangers, Next Goal Wins and Fire Island, and FX’s Pose.
Win or Lose will premiere on Disney+ on February 19.
