EXCLUSIVE: In 2020, Chanel Stewart was scrolling by X when she occurred upon a put up about how Pixar was on the lookout for an genuine, 14-year-old transgender woman to voice a transgender teenager in a brand new animated sequence.
Stewart, who at 14 had already logged a number of commercials, knew immediately that it was her function of a lifetime.
“I was exactly what they wanted to a T, and that’s why it felt so right. It felt just so right,” says Stewart, who’s a transgender woman from Los Angeles. “I immediately asked my mom if I could do it, because I just felt like if I don’t do this, it wouldn’t make sense. You know what I mean?”
Stewart finally scored the voiceover job in Win or Lose, which revolves round a co-ed softball workforce at a center faculty named the Pickles within the week main as much as their huge championship recreation. Stewart couldn’t wait to share the information along with her associates.
“Oh my God, it was crazy,” the now 18-year-old remembers. “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.”
So when Disney referred to as Monday night time to inform her mother, Keisha, that Win or Lose would not embody a transgender storyline, each she and Chanel had been heartsick. (Disney launched an announcement that stated “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.”)
“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 tells 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. 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.”
“I was very disheartened,” provides Stewart. “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.”
By slicing the transgender storyline, Disney eradicated “a few lines of dialogue” from an episode that references a personality’s gender identification. Stewart was not at liberty to share particulars with Deadline about her character, however was instructed by Disney that she’s “still a part of the show heavily.”
“It’s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl,” says Chanel Stewart, who’s repped by KEY Talent Management and Innovative Artists. “So yeah, that’s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.”
But there’s one factor that Disney can’t take away from Stewart. “I’m definitely one of the first [transgender girls] to do this!” says Stewart of her voiceover gig. “It’s a true honor to be a part of queer history.”
Win or Lose, which options Will Forte because the voice of softball Coach Dan, will start to roll out on Disney+ starting February 19, 2025.