Beau DeMayo says Marvel made him feel unwelcome from early in his tenure as creator of X-Men '97. Nearly two years after suing the company, DeMayo gave an extended account of his time there, saying he was treated as if he did not belong.
According to Deadline, DeMayo told Vanity Fair that he had been upfront with Marvel Studios Animation about his OnlyFans account. "It was cleared," he said. "It was like, 'It is your personal life. As long as you're not advertising the show on your OnlyFans, as long as you're keeping it very separate from the content of the show, it's outside of their purview.'"
DeMayo said the atmosphere around him carried a different message. He recalled comments like "oh, you don't look like a showrunner" and "you don't look like a writer." He explained, "There was that vibe that I was the DEI hire, where, 'Oh, they just got a gay Black guy because he checks all the marks and it's X-Men.'"
He was removed as head writer of the Disney+ animated series in March 2024, just ahead of its premiere. At the time he was fired, he had already completed writing for both seasons one and two. The show premiered to strong reviews without him.
DeMayo also said Marvel had asked him to work on the Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali, a project that was eventually cancelled. He said that returning to X-Men '97 after that experience brought things to a different level. "Some of those racist, sexist, homophobic vibes that I was getting before Blade became much more explicit," he said.
He described the overall experience as damaging. "It's been very traumatic," he said. "I thought I was in a safe space, and then quickly found out that I was not in a safe space. My therapist is well employed."
Later in 2024, DeMayo said Marvel stripped his Season 2 credits after he posted a piece of X-Men fan art for Pride Month. He wrote on social media at the time, "Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while on working on #XMen97 and #Blade."
Marvel responded to his claims with a statement: "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." The company declined to comment further. According to Marvel sources cited by Deadline, DeMayo was investigated for alleged sexual misconduct, and the credit removal was tied to breaches of the separation agreement between the two parties.
DeMayo has called the allegations false. His attorney, Bryan Freedman, said in August 2024, "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 added, "Beau DeMayo wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth. He will bravely tell the truth. So will I. Stand by."
The lawsuit between DeMayo and Marvel remains ongoing.
