Both Marvel and Beau DeMayo have issued disturbing claims about the ‘X-Men ’97’ creator’s firing
Beau DeMayo was originally the showrunner for X-Men ’97 but was fired right before the show premiered. For months, no one knew exactly what happened until DeMayo claimed that his credits were stripped away for season 2 because of a Pride-themed post. Now, Marvel has issued its own statement on the matter.
DeMayo made multiple claims (while not outright saying anything too specific) about why he was fired from the series. Most recently, he suggested his social media posts got him in trouble and that is why his credit was taken away for season 2. It made Marvel look very bad, which may have been why they finally responded publicly.
The studio released the statement via The Hollywood Reporter, saying on August 15, “Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2023 following an internal investigation. Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately, and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.”
Since then, there have been rumblings about what those “egregious” findings were. According to a report from The InSneider report, DeMayo is alleged to have been emotionally and physically abusive to those working for him. There is no confirmation at this time from either Marvel or DeMayo’s side of things that this was the reason for his termination.
But if true, it is especially upsetting given how DeMayo is handling Marvel letting him go. He has pointed to his social media posts about being an out and proud gay man as the reason for Marvel turning on him. “The truth will be revealed. After their Disney Plus disaster, Marvel wants to mislead with alleged contract breaches over tweets. It’s tragic it’s come to this but unsurprising. Stay tuned,” DeMayo tweeted.
The rumors about what was uncovered
Jeff Sneider’s report on the situation is disturbing. It alleges that DeMayo would send sexually suggestive pictures of himself to staff as “inspiration” and that he went as far as to grope an assistant during his tenure at Marvel Studios.
DeMayo has been silent online since August 15, with the Sneider report making the rounds online the following afternoon. The last thing DeMayo tweeted was a quote tweet of his own post, writing “This is their Disney-Marvel’s usual playbook. Legal letters as well as other items to prove their long-standing pattern to follow. It’s about finding a safe outlet. Thanks for your faith and patience.”
Right now, it is just a back-and-forth
DeMayo’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has reiterated DeMayo’s message, saying “Having much experience with Disney, the playbook is always the same. Family friendly on the outside, but secretly attempting to plant illegal unconscionable items in contracts that silence the truth and stop the employee/customer from asserting basic constitutional rights. As we will explain through detailed examples which we will roll out in detail one by one, Disney’s model is very clear and a repetitive illegal pattern.”
In a thread posted on X, DeMayo suggested the inciting incident for his firing was posting fan art depicting him as a shirtless Cyclops wearing the iconic yellow and blue colors.
DeMayo says that after he posted the image for Gay Pride back in June, he got a letter from Marvel saying his writing credits were no longer going to be included in season 2 of X-Men ’97.
It appears this series of tweets was what finally had Marvel speaking up so if Marvel is pushing back at what DeMayo claimed online, there might be more to this story unfolding. For now, all we have is Marvel’s statement vs. DeMayo’s statement.
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