When “X-Men ’97” hit Disney + in March, it received a warm reception for providing a nostalgic continuation of the beloved “X-Men: The Animated Series,” complete with a fittingly old school animation style. But just days before the show premiered, one of the most prominent voices who shaped the acclaimed season was fired. Beau DeMayo, who served as head writer on the revival after previously writing for Marvel ‘s “Moon Knight” limited series, was fired days before the show premiered.
While his departure was never explained, his colleague Brad Winderbaum, executive producer and Marvel Studios head of TV , streaming, and animation, spoke fondly of his contributions in a March interview with IndieWire . “Beau had real passion and respect for the characters and wrote great scripts,” Winderbaum said. “And like all of us, we’re drafting off a 60-year legacy of ‘The X-Men.
’ It’s filmmaking, it takes a village. There are countless creative minds that go into an enterprise of this scale. Artistically, from the beginning, it was about building a team that weren’t just ‘X-Men’ fans, but really loved the X-Men in their heart, where that original series was.
” But this week, DeMayo spoke out in a series of social media posts in which he alleged that he was fired by Disney over a post on his personal Instagram account during Pride month that featured a drawing of the X-Men character Cyborg posing in fetish clothing. He also claims he was stripped of writing credits for work he had already completed on Season 2. DeMayo is openly gay and previously ran an OnlyFans account under the username Beaunlyfans, though the account did not feature sexually explicit posts.
DeMayo claimed that his firing was tied to his post, adding that it was part of a pattern he experience during his time working at Disney. (He was also one of several screenwriters brought in to work on Mahershala Ali’s long-gestating “Blade” reboot .) “On June 13, #Marvel sent a letter notifying me that they’d stripped my Season 2 credits due to the post,” DeMayo wrote on X in reference to the Cyborg drawing.
“Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while working on #XMen97 and #Blade.” In a statement obtained by IndieWire, a spokesperson for Marvel Studios claimed that DeMayo’s firing was a result of unspecified “egregious” conduct. “Mr.
DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation,” the studio wrote. “Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.” A source with knowledge of the firing told IndieWire that the internal investigation was prompted by allegations of sexual misconduct by DeMayo.
The source added that the two parties reached a separation agreement that would allow him to remain credited for work already completed on Season 2, but that he was ultimately stripped of credits after repeatedly breaching said agreement. After Marvel responded, the writer took to X again on Thursday night, claiming that the world had not yet heard the full story of his termination. “The truth will be revealed,” DeMayo wrote .
“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.
” On Friday, DeMayo elaborated on his cryptic message. In a statement released to The Wrap through his attorney Bryan Freedman of Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley, DeMayo claimed that he is working with other wrongfully terminated Disney employees to sue the company for illegal contract language that allegedly deprives workers of their constitutional rights. Shortly after his firing, “What If.
..” writer Matthew Chauncey was tapped to replace DeMayo on Season 3, which is currently in development.
IndieWire has reached out to representatives for DeMayo for comment. The full statement from his attorney can be found below. 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. Once it gets challenged or exposed, the gaslighting and redirection of the blame toward anyone willing to tell the truth starts through an international well oiled publicity machine.
The problem for Disney is that when they go up against someone who has concrete evidence of this happening over 100 times, many of which have led to them settling hundreds of cases if not thousands to try and continue to control critics, employees and even lawyers who sue them. The problem for them is that I have the evidence and clients willing to be truthful and they know it. These are actually facts not argument or conjecture.
Over the next few months, with the brave help of those who have been illegally silenced, retaliated for simply telling the truth and then destroyed for it, one by one this bullying and illegal conduct will be exposed to the government. Beau DeMayo wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth. He will bravely tell the truth.
So will I. Stand by..
