Back in 2020, actress Chanel Stewart already had a few commercials under her belt but was in search of new work. She stumbled upon a post that Pixar was looking for a 14-year-old transgender girl to voice a transgender teen for one of their new series.
Stewart ultimately was chosen for the role on “Win or Lose.”
“Oh my God, it was crazy,” the 18-year-old told Deadline.
“I wore it as a badge. I wore it with pride. I wore it with honor because it meant so much to me. The thought of authentically portraying a transgender teenage girl made me really happy. I wanted to make this for transgender kids like me.”
However, she was informed on Monday (Dec. 16) that the storyline changed. Disney released a statement explaining “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.”
“I was very disheartened,” Stewart told the outlet. “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.”
Stewart is still involved with the “Win or Lose,” according to Disney. However, they got rid of several lines of dialogue from an episode that would refer to the character’s gender identity.
“It’s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl,” Stewart stated. “So yeah, that’s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.”
Still, Stewart knows how important is to be a part of this moment.
“I’m definitely one of the first [transgender girls] to do this! It’s a true honor to be a part of queer history.”
“Win or Lose,” which focuses on a co-ed softball team at a middle school preparing for an important championship game, is set to premiere on Disney+ in February.