By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-18 14:34:31 | Updated at 2024-12-18 17:50:01
3 hours ago
A disturbing transgender bathroom scene axed by Disney Pixar from its new children's softball cartoon has been leaked online.
The early rendering of the clip from Win or Lose shows a female middle schooler played by trans actress Chanel Stewart stand outside a public bathroom at a softball pitch while eyeing the male and female symbols above its doors.
She is seen confused and upset about which bathroom to use before a second character leads her into the women's bathroom.
Once inside, she looks in the mirror and her face begins to warp and distort in the style of a surrealist painting, before the character's reflection transforms into a giant blue man.
She is seen upset and calling her father, who comforts her and says she will always be welcomed on the team.
The eerie scene was shared online by furious transgender activists after Disney Pixar confirmed it had been scrubbed from the show over fears it was unsuitable for children.
'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,' Disney said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
It is believed no mention will be made to the character's gender identity in the retooled show and that she will be presented as a biological female.
Stewart told Deadline she was 'very disheartened' by Disney's decision to swerve the transgender issue.
'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,' she said. 'Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.'
The axed scene sees the character struggling as they decide which restroom to go into
Disney has cut a storyline that explored a transgender character's anxieties in their new series Win or Lose, which follows a co-ed middle school softball team
Win or Lose, follows a co-ed team of middle schoolers, the Pickles, as they prepare for their championship game and each episode focuses on one character's life outside the game.
Stewart, 18, said her mother received a call on Monday to inform her Pixar was getting rid of her storyline.
'It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life. I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact,' Stewart's mom Keisha told Deadline.
'There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented.
'Everyone deserves to be recognized.
'And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period.'
Disney told Stewart that even if the storyline was cut out, she is 'still a part of the show heavily.'
When the character talks to her parent on the phone, her face becomes distorted in surrealist fashion
The character sees the male sign in the mirror after she goes in the women's bathroom
Chanel Stewart, the trans actress who plays the trans character said she was 'very disheartened' by Disney's decision to make her character cisgender
Wil or Lose will premiere on Disney+ on February 29.
The latest news of Disney editing out LGBTQ content comes after the company came under fire after people who worked on the Disney Channel animated series Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur claimed on social media that an episode prominently featuring a trans character was dropped by the studio.
However, Disney denied that the episode had been 'banned' and said the decision not to release it was unrelated to the trans character.
Notably, the studio offered claimed the decision had been made more than a year before, which echoes the Win Or Lose source's claim that dialogue about the trans character had been edited months earlier.
The Disney+ series was originally set to be released in December of 2023, before it was delayed a year to December 2024.
The series then swapped released dates with another Pixar series, Dream Productions, for a February 19 release date, though it's unknown if the edited episode played any part in those delays.
The animated series is created, written and directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who also serve as executive producers, along with David Lally, Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Lindsey Collins.
Trump made opposition to transgender surgeries for children and the participation of trans women in female sports a successful part of his campaign message.
The Walt Disney Company endured a damaging clash with Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 over his so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which banned the teaching of transgender issues in classrooms.
Disney was pressured into opposing the measure, which ultimately led to DeSantis revoking the corporation self-governing status at its hugely-profitable Walt Disney World theme park in Orlando.
The two sides later made peace and came to an agreement.
Disney sparked further fury in 2022 after general entertainment president Karey Burke announced plans to shoehorn as many LGBTQIA characters into shows as possible.
Burke choked up during a Zoom call while describing herself as the mother of 'one transgender child and one pansexual child.'
