After fired X-Men ‘97 showrunner Beau DeMayo claimed that he was told his Season 2 credits would be removed for posting Pride Month fanart on social media, Marvel has fired back in a statement, saying he was terminated after an internal investigation revealed “egregious” findings.
The developments shed more light on what has largely been a mysterious situation, given that DeMayo was fired back in March just a few days before X-Men ‘97’s premiere on Disney+, with no public explanation provided. On X/Twitter last night, DeMayo posted a screenshot of an Instagram post he published on June 4, featuring a fanart image of himself, shirtless, as the X-Men character Cyclops.
“Above is #XMen fan-art I posted on Instagram for Gay Pride in June,” DeMayo wrote. “On June 13, #Marvel sent a letter notifying me that they’d stripped my Season 2 credits due to the post. Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while on working on #XMen97 and #Blade.”
Above is #XMen fan-art I posted on Instagram for Gay Pride in June. On June 13, #Marvel sent a letter notifying me that they’d stripped my Season 2 credits due to the post. Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while on working on #XMen97 and #Blade.
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) August 16, 2024
He added that he’ll have more to say “soon,” but is stepping back from social media in the meantime. Disney, however, responded to DeMayo’s claims with a statement of its own to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation,” reads the statement. “Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately, and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.”
The statement did not go into further details, but THR’s report says DeMayo’s Season 2 credits were removed due to contact breaches surrounding DeMayo’s occasional social media posts about the show after his termination. The THR report also says “sexual misconduct” was involved in the internal investigation into DeMayo.
DeMayo, though, then responded to Disney's statement, writing in an additional X/Twitter post, “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.”
“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.” https://t.co/D4d5tXfPP0
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) August 16, 2024
As has been previously confirmed both in statements from Marvel head of animation Brad Winderbaum and DeMayo himself, DeMayo wrote much of the second season of X-Men ‘97 before his termination. DeMayo clarified, however, that unlike Season 1, he won’t be heavily involved in the production of the upcoming Season 2 episodes.
DeMayo’s firing was a shocking one earlier this year, given that not only had the creative worked with Marvel on X-Men ‘97, Moon Knight, and the long-gestating Blade film, but that the news came down just a week before X-Men ‘97’s premiere. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, X-Men ‘97 has been a massive critical success for Disney, scoring an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. DeMayo previously said Disney/Marvel has not been in touch on him potentially attending the Emmy Awards.
In our review, we gave X-Men ‘97 Season 1 a 9/10, writing, “X-Men '97 isn't just a fitting continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, but one of the best adaptations ever of this iconic Marvel franchise.”
Thumbnail credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
