Disney has decided to remove a transgender storyline from its new Pixar show “Win or Lose.”
The upcoming series, set to be released on Feb. 19, follows a group of kids on a softball team as they prepare for their championship game. Each episode centers around a different character, showcasing their personalities, helicopter parents and more.
Ahead of the show’s debut, a Disney spokesperson confirmed the removal of the transgender storyline.
“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 spokesperson said on Dec. 17.
“Win or Lose” is Pixar Animation Studios’ first-ever original series.
Over the years, there have been speculations of LGBTQ representation in Disney-Pixar projects, including people thinking there was a lesbian couple in the “Finding Dory” trailer, as well as two women hugging a child as they dropped them off at school in “Toy Story 4.” In 2020, the first self-identified lesbian character named Officer Specter was introduced in “Onward.”
Producer Kori Rae told Yahoo Entertainment at the time that the storyline “just kind of happened.”
“The scene, when we wrote it, was kind of fitting and it opens up the world a little bit, and that’s what we wanted,” Rae said.
Pixar’s “Lightyear,” released in 2022, included a same-sex relationship and a kiss. Star Chris Evans, who voiced the “real” Buzz Lightyear, called out people who criticized the moment, telling Reuters Television, “The real truth is those people are idiots.”
The film was banned in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Disney had reportedly cut the kiss scene, eventually reinstating it after many Pixar animators protested in an open letter that called out the Walt Disney Company’s alleged censorship of LGBTQ themes in its movies.