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\n\tEXCLUSIVE: <\/strong>In 2020, Chanel Stewart was scrolling by X when she occurred upon a put up about how Pixar<\/a> was on the lookout for an genuine, 14-year-old transgender woman to voice a transgender teenager in a brand new animated sequence. <\/p>\n \n\tStewart, who at 14 had already logged a number of commercials, knew immediately that it was her function of a lifetime. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was exactly what they wanted to a T, and that\u2019s why it felt so right. It felt just so right,\u201d says Stewart, who’s a transgender woman from Los Angeles. \u201cI immediately asked my mom if I could do it, because I just felt like if I don\u2019t do this, it wouldn\u2019t make sense. You know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tStewart finally scored the voiceover job in Win or Lose<\/a><\/em>, 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\u2019t wait to share the information along with her associates. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOh my God, it was crazy,\u201d the now 18-year-old remembers. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSo when Disney<\/a> referred to as Monday night time to inform her mother, Keisha, that Win or Lose<\/em> would not embody a transgender storyline<\/a>, each she and Chanel had been heartsick. (Disney launched an announcement that stated \u201cwhen 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.\u201d)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt 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,\u201d Stewart\u2019s mother Keisha tells Deadline. \u201cThere 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\u2019s very hard on transgender teenagers \u2026 transgender people, period. Especially when you\u2019re young and you\u2019re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was very disheartened,\u201d provides Stewart. \u201cFrom 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBy slicing the transgender storyline, Disney eradicated \u201ca few lines of dialogue\u201d from an episode that references a personality\u2019s gender identification. Stewart was not at liberty to share particulars with Deadline about her character, however was instructed by Disney that she\u2019s \u201cstill a part of the show heavily.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl,\u201d says Chanel Stewart, who’s repped by KEY Talent Management and Innovative Artists. \u201cSo yeah, that\u2019s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut there\u2019s one factor that Disney can\u2019t take away from Stewart. \u201cI\u2019m definitely one of the first [transgender girls] to do this!\u201d says Stewart of her voiceover gig. \u201cIt\u2019s a true honor to be a part of queer history.\u201d<\/p>\n