Here’s the Storyboard From the LGBTQ+ ‘Win or Lose’ Scene That Disney Hopes You Never See

Disney has decided to pull a storyline from their upcoming Pixar-produced sports comedy Win or Lose that would tackle the touchy topic of gender identity, but they apparently can’t stop their own employees from “identifying” as 4chan leakers.

According to the Disney+ show’s official logline, Win or Lose will tell the story of a co-ed middle school softball team on their road to a championship, focusing on the relatable experiences of “the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, (and) even a lovesick umpire.” Each episode will be told from the perspective of a different character — but, Disney promises, Win or Lose will not so much as allude to the perspective of any gender non-conforming or transgender person, animated or otherwise. 

In its official retraction, a representative from Disney told The Hollywood Reporter that, “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 claims that the offending content only amounted to "a few lines of dialogue” during one episode, but the online content creator Lost Media Busters claims to have a clip of the storyboard for the gender-focused subplot that apparently leaked on 4chan multiple months ago:

Before Disney made the public announcement that they’re no longer planning on representing trans or gender non-conforming youth onscreen, they informed the mother of the affected character’s voice actress Chanel Stewart, who is, herself, a transgender teenager, in an uncomfortable phone call that the family discussed with Deadline shortly after the retraction. 

“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 mother Keisha said of Disney’s decision to cut the gender-focused subplot from Win or Lose.

“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,” Stewart’s mother asserted. “And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”

Nevertheless, Stewart shared her initial joy when she learned that Disney wanted to tell the story of a trans girl’s journey to accept her identity and that she would get to be part of that story. “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,” said Stewart.

While the young actress is disappointed that Disney decided to erase those important themes from the show and from her character’s arc, she remained upbeat that her inclusion in Win or Lose will still mark important progress for artists like herself. “I’m definitely one of the first (transgender girls) to do this!” said Stewart of her performance in a Pixar project. “It’s a true honor to be a part of queer history.”

We, too, can be a part of queer history by watching what should have been a landmark scene in its rough sketches either on Twitter or on the digital archive of the storyboard that neither Lost Media Busters nor Stewart herself will ever forget, no matter what Disney says about “certain subject matters.”