Many are blasting Disney for allegedly tabling a trans athlete plot in an animated series after the election.
Derrick Malik Johnson, who worked on the episode of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – which features 13-year-old Lunella Lafayette and her dinosaur sidekick – wrote in a since-deleted post on BlueSky that it has been shelved due to “which party won the recent election.”
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The episode centered on Lunella’s trans classmate, Brooklyn, who is banned from the girls’ volleyball team by the coach. Leaked footage depicts a heartwarming moment in which Brooklyn’s teammates rally around her in support.
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The entire episode has now been unofficially released on YouTube and depicts a heartwarming story of trans acceptance at a time when trans youth are being attacked across the country.
In it, Brooklyn talks about “the darkness of me having to play on the boys team” and asks, “How many doors do I have to break through until they stop locking me out?” She wears rainbow knee pads and has a “Trans is beautiful” sticker on her water bottle.
Her teammates assure her she is not a burden. “Let us step for you,” they tell her.
A source from Disney told Polygonthat the episode was put on hold over a year ago and has nothing to do with the results of the presidential election. “In this case, this decision was based on this specific episode, not because of the character being trans,” they said, adding that it isn’t “banned” per see, but rather being “held.”
The source also said the show’s target audience is 6 through 12-year-olds and that Disney is “respectful of the role that parents play in the discussions they have with their children.”
Fans on social media have voiced their disappointment with the decision.
“The cruel irony of this episode about how trans people have to go through so many doors being slammed on their faces, and then this episode also gets a door slammed by Disney themselves,” one person wrote on social media.
Another added, “The fact that Disney actually shelved that episode of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur at a time when LGBTQ+ and trans lives matter the most is deplorable. I know young children are gonna need this episode more than ever and it should be released cause trans lives matter.”
Someone else also noted the hard work that went into the episode: “Disney should be ashamed of themselves for canning this episode. You don’t get to approve approve approve something and then destroy it at the last minute, shattering the crews hard work and hopes.”
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