Disney confirmed this week that it has removed a storyline related to gender identity from an upcoming animated series about a middle school softball team.
“Win or Lose,” an original series from Pixar that premieres in February, will still include a character voiced by a transgender actress, but the dialogue will no longer include references to gender identity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement about the decision to The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney and LGBTQ characters
The “Win or Lose” edit is the latest signal that Disney is struggling to determine the bast path forward on storylines related to the LGBTQ community.
While the company doesn’t seem to shy away from including LGBTQ characters in shows marketed to adults, it has made several adjustments to kid-focused movies and shows in response to — or in anticipation of — pushback from employees and viewers.
For example, a same-sex kiss in the Pixar movie “Lightyear” nearly didn’t make the final version of the film, per Variety. It was removed during editing but then reinstated after LGBTQ employees raised concerns.
In April, Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that he’d like the company to avoid getting caught up in political debates and focus, instead, on creating the best products possible.
“Infusing messaging is not what we’re up to,” he said. “We need to be entertaining.”
Disney’s ‘Win or Lose’ controversy
The decision to remove references to gender identity from “Win or Lose” only affected a few lines of dialogue near the end of the show’s eight-episode first season, according to NBC News.
But the edit has still frustrated some potential viewers, as well as the actress who voiced the character that was originally meant to discuss being transgender.
“I was very disheartened,” said the 18-year-old actress, Chanel Stewart, in an interview with Deadline. “From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
But Stewart remains grateful for the opportunity, telling Deadline that “Win or Lose” is one of the first animated series to involve voice acting from a transgender young person.
“Win or Lose” will debut on Disney+ on Feb. 19.
“The show was co-created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who worked on previous Pixar projects like ‘Toy Story 4′ and ‘Inside Out 2,’” per NBC News.