Disney Pulls Transgender Storyline from Pixar’s ‘Win or Lose’ Streaming Series (Exclusive)
The original animated show about a co-ed high school team debuts on Disney+ in February.
By
Pamela McClintock
December 17, 2024 11:15am
The series follows a co-ed middle school softball team named the Pickles in the week leading up to their championship game. Each of the eight episodes center on the off-the-field life of a character and their point of view, whether it be a player, a parent, a coach or an umpire.
A spokesperson for Disney confirmed that the story arc was removed and provided the following statement to
THR: “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 remains in the show, but a few lines of dialogue that referenced gender identity are being removed. A source close to
Win or Lose said the studio made the decision to alter course several months ago.
Disney declined to comment on any further details.
It’s not the first time the company has come under scrutiny for LGBTQ+ storylines, particularly regarding its animated content.
In 2022, controversy erupted both inside and outside of Disney following former CEO Bob Chapek’s much-criticized response to Florida’s “
Don’t Say Gay” bill. In June of that year, Pixar’s
Lightyear included a same-gender relationship and kiss, which also sparked controversy. Disney Animation’s
Strange World, which featured an openly gay lead character, opened several months later. Both films failed to perform domestically or overseas, earning just $226.4 million and $73.6 million, respectively, at the global box office. LGBTQ+ content faces challenges in certain international markets, where a country may impose a more restrictive age rating or ban the content altogether.
Gender identity has become a charged and divisive topic across the United States, especially around youth and sports. Most recently, Disney Channel’s animated series
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur made headlines after some who worked on the show took to social media to say Disney banned the release of an episode focused on a recurring transgender character. The company denied that the episode was “banned” and said the decision to hold on releasing the episode was made more than a year ago and was not because of the transgender character inclusion.
Disney has continued to feature LGBTQ+ content in its more adult-focused fare, notably Marvel Television’s
Agatha All Along, Searchlight Pictures’
All of Us Strangers,
Next Goal Wins and
Fire Island, and FX’s
Pose, among others.
The studio is far from alone in grappling with potential fallout from politically charged content. All of Hollywood is bracing for what could be a tumultuous four years under the Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump, who won in a sweeping victory last month, has routinely criticized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, and it’s been widely reported that a number of businesses have started to pull back on DEI programming, a trend that underrepresented groups fear will only continue. Top media execs have already met with Trump,
including Apple’s Tim Cook, while Netflix’s Ted Sarandos is scheduled to meet with him at Mar-a-Lago today.
The decision regarding
Win or Lose comes as Disney’s film empire, led by Alan Bergman, is celebrating a major comeback at the box office, led by animation. Pixar’s
Inside Out 2, released last summer, has grossed $1.7 billion globally to rank as the top-grossing animated film of all time, while Disney Animation’s
Moana 2 has likewise shattered numerous records, earning more than $725 million to date as it heads for the $1 billion mark.
Win or Lose was initially set to debut this month but ended up swapping dates with Pixar’s other original animated series
Dream Productions, which is based on the character of Riley from
Inside Out, in an order to capitalize on the movie sequel’s success. It will bow Feb. 19, 2025. Michael Yates, Carrie Hobson and David Lally created the show, which voice stars Will Forte as coach Dan.
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