An attorney representing X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo denied allegations that DeMayo sent nude photos to staffers that resulted in his firing.
(L-R): Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Beast (voiced by George Buza), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Roberto Da Costa (voiced by Gui Agustini), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), and Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
DeMayo was reportedly fired from X-Men ’97 in March with The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit and Aaron Couch writing at the time that he “will no longer be promoting the show or moving forward with future seasons.”
The duo also noted that DeMayo’s company email was shut down and cast and crew for the series were notified he would no longer be working on the project. DeMayo also shut down his Instagram account.
Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum denied that DeMayo was fired. He told the outlet, “I can’t talk about the details, but I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters and wrote what I think are excellent scripts that really the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from [to] build this amazing show that’s on screen.”
When specifically asked if he would describe DeMayo’s departure as a firing, Winderbaum said, “I don’t. ‘We parted ways’ is the best way I could say.”
(L-R): Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Magneto (voiced by Matthew Waterson), and Morph (voiced by JP Karliak) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
About a week ago, DeMayo took to social media to claim that Marvel stripped him a Season 2 credit over posting a gay pride post to Instagram depicting himself as a member of the X-Men.
He wrote, “Firstly, I’m so grateful to have worked on X-Men ’97, collaborating with some amazingly talented folks. Creating this revival was a dream come true and the support fans have shown is so touching. However, I felt it pressing for me to speak up in the wake of leaving the show…”
Beau DeMayo on X
He continued, “Above is X-Men 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 X-Men ’97 and Blade.”
“I’ll have more to say soon but must take a step back from social media to find a safer space for me to be out, proud, and nerdy. Stay tuned,” he concluded.
Beau DeMayo on X
Marvel Studios responded to this accusation from DeMayo telling Variety, “Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 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.”
Furthermore, Variety’s Adam B. Vary and Katcy Stephan shared, “A source with knowledge of the investigation said evidence was discovered of sexual misconduct, and that DeMayo repeatedly violated his termination agreement, which led to the removal of his credits for Season 2.”
(L-R): Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Magneto (voiced by Matthew Waterson), Beast (voiced by George Buza), Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), and Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
Despite claiming he was taking a step back from social media, DeMayo responded to this report from Variety writing on X, “‘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.’”
Beau DeMayo on X
Following this post, Bryan Freedman, DeMayo’s lawyer informed Deadline, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Freedman also stated, “Beau DeMayo wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth. He will bravely tell the truth. So will I. Stand by.”
(L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), and Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
Following the initial report from Variety that Marvel discovered DeMayo was allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct, Jeff Sneider at The InSneider reported, “I’m told that DeMayo sent nude photos of himself — or at the very least, photos of himself in various states of undress — to several young male staffers. Some of these photos allegedly featured DeMayo wearing superhero costumes and striking sexually suggestive ‘hero’ poses that could be used as ‘inspiration’ for the show. DeMayo was asked to stop sending such photos but I’m told that he persisted nonetheless.”
One anonymous individual told Sneider, “If you were a guy who looked like they could be under 30 on that show [X-Men ’97], you have his nudes whether you wanted them or not.”
Sneider also shared that “DeMayo allegedly groped an assistant on multiple occasions and that he was both emotionally and physically abusive to staffers, though I don’t have any specific incidents to share on that front.”
Gambit voiced by AJ LaCascio, Wolverine voiced by Cal Dodd, Rogue voiced by Lenore Zann, Jubilee voiced by Holly Chou, and Cyclops voiced by Ray Chase in X-Men ’97 (2024), Marvel Animation
Sneider went on to detail that the reason why DeMayo was let go from Netflix’s The Witcher property was for similar reasons to the above. He goes on to note that Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum did not do his due diligence when hiring DeMayo.
Finally, Sneider shared that DeMayo is losing his Executive Producer credit for Season 2, but he will still retain a writing albeit Marvel is apparently “rewriting most of Season 2.”
(L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
Mo Hoosen at TheStreamr would reiterate Sneider’s claim writing, “Numerous sources, who have no connection to one another, also said to The Streamr that DeMayo sent photos and videos of himself to people who reported to him.”
Hoosen also shared, “A source told us that, after one person reported DeMayo to HR, it opened up the floodgates for many others to do the same. This influx of reports then triggered an investigation by Marvel, who states it found “egregious” results.
“We also heard that at least one person quit X-Men ’97 under DeMayo’s tenure,” he added.
(L-R): Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Beast (voiced by George Buza), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), and Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
Freedman responded to these allegations telling The Streamr, “You realize that Disney allowed Beau to have an Only Fans page while working for the company. No clue if someone quit while he was showrunner but that’s like every single day on every single show. ”
“My client never sent lewd videos and photos to his direct reports. That is a bald faced lie and defamatory,” he declared.
(L-R): Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Beast (voiced by George Buza), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), and Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
Interestingly, he did seemingly confirm that DeMayo was reported to HR by multiple people, “No one who reported Beau to HR received an inappropriate photo or video. That is simply untrue.”
“As a proud gay black man, Disney knew exactly who he was and what he stood up for. That’s why they did not tell him to stop his only fans page. They let him be himself which allowed his creativity to thrive,” Freedman wrote.
(L-R): Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Beast (voiced by George Buza), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), and Roberto Da Costa (voiced by Gui Agustini) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
He then alleged that DeMayo was fired because someone attempted to replace him out of jealousy, “When they objected to his free speech rights and not complying with illegal NDA’s a certain person over there tried to replace him because he was becoming more successful than other creators.”
“Ask Disney if his separation agreement illegally silenced him. Let me know what they say,” he concluded. “Don’t print this crap. It’s wrong and defamatory.”
(L-R): Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Roberto Da Costa (voiced by Gui Agustini), Nightcrawler (voiced by Adrian Hough), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), and Morph (voiced by JP Karliak) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
