Pixar’s Win or Lose is one of the most controversial series to come out of Disney, and even long before its release, it appears the show was already under political pressure. Recent reports have pointed out how the show has axed out a whole transgender storyline and thereafter, squeezed in a devout Christian character, as seen in the first episode of the series.
WDW News Today was among the first to notice the change. During the first episode of Win or Lose, a character named Laurie can be seen in her very first scenes praying to a cutout angel in her bedroom. Laurie, who suffers from crippling insecurity, also uttered the words “heavenly Father,” with many regarding Laurie as an “openly Christian” character.
Coincidentally enough (or not), a Disney spokesperson confirmed that a whole transgender story arc was cut out of Win or Lose back in December 2024. Initial reports claimed that only a few lines of dialog were cut. However, Disney has elected to remove the whole transgender content completely, citing that many parents would prefer to discuss such a subject with their children on their own terms.
Did Trump Cause the Change?
Earlier in December 2024, Donald Trump also notably brought a defamation lawsuit against Disney, where he sued the Disney-owned ABC News. Trump’s defamation lawsuit covered inaccurate statements made by news anchor George Stephanopoulos and Disney chose to settle on the matter for a whopping $15 million.
As for what led to the lawsuit, George Stephanopoulos claimed in March 2024 that Trump was found liable for rape for writer E. Jean Carroll, something that wasn’t legally true since a verdict wasn’t reached under New York law.
Thus, experts now posit that Disney is trying to mend relationships with Trump now that he’s the US President, hence their removal of the transgender character for Win or Lose in addition to adding a religious Christian character. In the past, Trump has also regarded Disney as “woke.”
Apparently, Disney’s also making adjustments not just in Win or Lose but also in its diversity initiatives. Disney has supposedly made significant changes to its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs (DEI) earlier in February 2025, amid Trump’s war on DEI.
How Much was Win or Lose Affected?
So far, Win or Lose has only aired four episodes out of its total eight. While Pixar appears to have maintained the general tone of the series, some of the more notable DEI additions, like the transgender storyline, were absent in favor of more conservative or Christian depictions, such as Laurie’s prayers, presumably because of Disney’s influence.
For the record, Win or Lose is a sports-comedy drama series about a baseball team made up of insecure children with social and familial issues. It’s Pixar’s first attempt at an original series and signals a pivot away from their usual comfort zone of full-length 3D feature films.
Meanwhile, people have quite a lot to say about the recent change to Win or Lose, with some calling it virtue signalling, except this time, for the conservative trend and crowd:
