LGBT outlets have expressed concern and dissatisfaction over Disney's inclusion of its first overtly Christian character in nearly three decades in its recent series, "Win or Lose," on Disney+. The character, a middle school softball player named Laurie, appears in the show's premiere episode, "Coach's Kid," where she is seen praying to God for strength and guidance as she prepares for an upcoming game.

"Dear Heavenly Father, please give me strength … I just want to catch a ball or get a hit," Laurie, whose father is the team's coach, says. "I promise I'll be good, and I, uh, won't do that thing again." In another scene, Laurie prays, "Please help me be good. I'm gonna train so hard."

According to The Christian Post, Laurie marks the first time a Christian Disney character expressed a prayer since the 1996 Disney film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film features a song titled "God Help the Outcasts."

"God help the outcasts/ Hungry from birth/ Show them the mercy/ They don't find on earth/ God help my people/ We look to You/ still God help the outcasts/ Or nobody will," the song's lyrics state in part.

Conversely, a number of LGBT outlets have expressed outrage concerning Laurie.

"The introduction of an explicitly Christian character is fairly innocuous on its own standing, but the context surrounding the show – and Disney at large – has left some LGBTQ+ TV lovers a little uneasy," an article by Pink News states.

"While Laurie's Christian beliefs aren't depicted as being [anti-transgender], and Christian characters aren't incongruous with [transgender] characters — of course, someone can be both religious and transgender — some viewers feel the two conjunctive decisions are indicative of Disney moving back toward a more traditional, conservative worldview."

Meanwhile, Them.us argued that the episode is tied with the "Christian Right," warning that adding Laurie's character "hints at Disney's embrace of a cultural shift toward traditional conservatism during the second Trump administration."

According to Internet Movie Database, "Win or Lose" tells the story of a "middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game," with each episode "told from the perspective of a different character."

The inclusion of Laurie's character follows Disney's decision to drop an LGBT-related storyline involving a transgender-identified child from "Win or Lose" last December following backlash from conservative groups. The company had previously been criticized for advocating against a Parental Rights in Education bill passed in Florida in 2022. The bill, which critics denounced as the "Don't Say Gay Bill," prohibits discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through the third grade in public schools.

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