Marvel Studios recently revealed that they fired Beau DeMayo, the creator and lead writer of “X-Men ’97,” in March 2024 due to serious misconduct. This announcement came shortly after DeMayo took to social media, claiming that he lost his writing credits for the show’s second season because he shared a post supporting gay pride online.
“Mr. DeMayo was fired in March 2024 after we conducted an investigation,” the studio explained in a statement. “Because of the serious things we discovered, we cut all ties with him right away, and he no longer has any connection to Marvel.”
A source familiar with the investigation revealed that they found evidence of sexual misconduct by DeMayo. He also kept breaking the rules of his termination agreement, which is why his name was removed from the credits for Season 2.
On Thursday night, DeMayo shared a shirtless picture of himself, dressed like the mutant superhero Cyclops. He wrote,
“First off, I’m so thankful I got to work on #XMen97 with such talented people. Bringing this show back to life was a dream come true, and the support from fans means a lot. But after leaving the show, I felt it was important to speak up.”
He continued, “The picture above is fan art of #XMen that I shared on Instagram for Gay Pride in June. On June 13, #Marvel sent me a letter saying they removed my Season 2 credits because of that post. Unfortunately, this is just the latest issue I’ve faced while working on #XMen97 and #Blade.”
Later on Thursday night, DeMayo responded to Marvel’s statement in a social media post, sharing a link to this article. He wrote,
“The truth will come out. After their issues with Disney Plus, Marvel is trying to distract by claiming I broke my contract because of tweets. It’s sad that it’s come to this, but not surprising. Stay tuned.”
DeMayo was fired in March 2024, before the series premiered on Disney+. He had already finished work on Seasons 1 and 2 of the animated show. DeMayo also wrote for Marvel’s “Moon Knight” on Disney+ and was one of the writers for the upcoming “Blade” movie starring Mahershala Ali.
When “X-Men ’97” premiered, it received some of the best reviews for Marvel’s streaming shows, praised for its bold stories and complex characters. Before the premiere, Marvel Animation chief Brad Winderbaum told Variety that DeMayo “did excellent work on Seasons 1 and 2, and I can’t wait for fans to see it.”
See More: Norman Osborn to Be Voiced By Colman Domingo in ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’
The show got a nomination for best animated program at the Primetime Creative Emmy Awards. On August 12, DeMayo tweeted that Marvel had not invited him to attend the Emmys for the show he created.
During the first season, DeMayo often shared detailed posts on X about different episodes and storylines. Before he was fired, he also ran a non-explicit OnlyFans account under the name “Beaunlyfans.” In 2022, Out magazine described DeMayo as “the sexy, gay Marvel and showrunner to know.”
Source: Variety