An upcoming Pixar animated original series on Disney+ has had its dialogue altered to cut a subplot about a transgender character, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Tuesday.
The series "Win or Lose" "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," the report noted.
But there was originally supposed to be a story about a character navigating their gender identity, which has since been removed.
“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 spokesperson confirmed to the outlet.
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This comes after Disney has navigated a number of controversies and fury from right-wingers about LGBTQ topics mentioned in their films: In 2022, "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."
During that year, the company also faced criticism for its initial lack of response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, censoring any discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, despite being one of the state's largest private employers. Ultimately, the company condemned the legislation, kicking off a multi-year battle in which Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney traded legal attacks before things finally de-escalated.
Republicans broadly lost the culture war on open same-sex relationships, with society at large broadly accepting and legally sanctioning these partnerships; transgender rights, however, remain a particularly fraught subject, with the GOP attempting to restrict transgender inclusion in athletics, public restrooms, and health care access.
