Marvel Studios is speaking out about the unexpected firing of X-Men ’97 creator Beau DeMayo in March.
On Thursday, the film studio, which is owned by Disney, shared a statement with Variety claiming that DeMayo — who also served as the head writer on the animated series — had been fired for ‘egregious’ misconduct at the conclusion of an investigation.
The studio put out its statement not long after DeMayo took to social media to reshare a post from June’s Gay Pride celebrations.
In is new post, he claimed that Disney had stripped him of his writing credits on X-Men ’97 season two episodes in response to his original Pride post.
DailyMail.com has contacted DeMayo’s attorney and Disney requesting comment.
Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, claimed X-Men ’97 creator Beau DeMayo (pictured in March 2022 in LA) was fired over the results of an investigation that found he allegedly committed ‘egregious’ misconduct
DeMayo was fired in March, just days before the well-reviewed series premiered
‘Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation,’ Marvel said in a statement on Thursday. ‘Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.’
A source described as having knowledge of the investigation told Variety that evidence of sexual misconduct involving DeMayo was discovered in the course of the investigation.
They also claimed that DeMayo had multiple violations of a separation agreement he signed after being fired, which led Marvel to remove his writing credits on season two episodes.
Earlier on Thursday evening, DeMayo shared a fan-drawn image of a Cyclops-like X-Men character that appeared to be inspired by DeMayo himself.
‘Firstly, I’m so grateful to have worked on #XMen97, collaborating with some amazingly talented folks,’ he captioned his post. ‘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.
‘Above is #XMen fan-art I posted on Instagram for Gay Pride in June,’ he 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.’
After Marvel released its statement, which didn’t directly address DeMayo’s credits being removed, he made another post in response.
‘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,’ he wrote while linking to an article about Marvel’s statement.
Prior to Marvel’s statement, DeMayo claimed on social media that his season two writing credits were stripped over a Pride post from June (pictured above)
But a source with knowledge of the investigation claimed he lost his credits by repeatedly violation a termination agreement. They also said the investigation was into sexual misconduct allegations; DeMayo pictured in July 22 at San Diego Comic-Con
DeMayo’s attorney Bryan Freedman, of Freedman Taitelman + Cooley, subsequently shared a statement with Variety on Friday in response to Marvel’s statement about his client’s termination.
‘Having much experience with Disney, the playbook is always the same,’ Freedman said. ‘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,’ the attorney continued. ‘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.’
DeMayo’s series X-Men ’97 is a long-awaited continuation of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired from 1992 to 1997.
The new series had received stellar reviews ahead of its premiere in March of this year, and DeMayo had already served as the head writer on the first and second seasons ahead of his firing.
The series had already ben renewed for the second season, and DeMayo had reportedly been in discussions with Marvel over plot points for a potential third season.
DeMayo’s attorney Bryan Freedman accused Disney of ‘secretly attempting to plant illegal unconscionable items’ in DeMayo’s contract
DeMayo’s series X-Men ’97 is a long-awaited continuation of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired from 1992 to 1997
Following his termination, Matthew Chauncey was hired as head writer for the third season.
DeMayo, who is Black and identifies as gay, had previously shared how his upbringing as the son of white adoptive parents living in the South had influenced his love of the X-Men and inspired some of his storylines.
He had previously written for Netflix’s The Witcher, Marvel’s Moon Knight and Paramount Plus’ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
He was also one of numerous writers who worked on Marvel’s long-delayed Blade reboot.