Beau DeMayo Goes on the Offensive

Six months after being fired under mysterious circumstances, former X-Men ‘97 showrunner Beau DeMayo is going on the offensive.

For those unfamiliar with the story, DeMayo was fired just days before X-Men ’97 premiered in March. While the news was shocking, the two sides appeared to remain amicable.

Photo: MSN

Marvel’s head of streaming, Brad Winderbaum, subsequently praised DeMayo’s work on the series. The former showrunner also broke his silence on social media to promote X-Men ’97 and interact with fans.

Things Between Marvel and DeMayo Turned Sour Last Month

However, the tone changed last month when DeMayo shared that Disney and Marvel had not invited him to the Creative Emmy Awards despite X-Men ’97 being nominated for Outstanding Animated Program.

One week later, DeMayo accused Marvel of stripping him of any writing credits for X-Men ’97 Season 2 because of a Gay Pride post he made in June.

Firstly, I’m so grateful to have worked on #XMen97, 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… pic.twitter.com/kbOTL3IQJj

— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) August 16, 2024

“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,” he wrote.

“Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while on working on #XMen97 and #Blade.”

Marvel’s Response

Shortly after DeMayo’s accusations became public, Marvel released a statement revealing the showrunner had been terminated after an internal investigation turned up “egregious” evidence of misconduct.

Marvel Studios Logo. Photo: Marvel

“Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation,” the studio said. “Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately. He has no further affiliation with Marvel.”

DeMayo’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, quickly released a statement accusing Marvel of including “illegal, unconscionable items in contracts that silence the truth and stop the employee/customer from asserting basic constitutional rights.”

Image: Marvel

Based on the lawyer’s statements, it looked like a court battle could be brewing.

Today’s Filing

Today, Freedman filed a complaint asking for an expedited jury trial to have an allegedly “illegal non-disparagement provision” removed from the writer’s exit package.

Photo: Bryan Freedman

“Backed by an army of well-versed employment attorneys, Marvel knowingly incorporated an illegal non-disparagement provision designed to muzzle an openly gay Black man and restrict his statutory rights,” the complaint adds. “And, in fact, Marvel invoked this unenforceable provision to justify its nefarious removal of DeMayo’s credits on the acclaimed series X-Men ‘97.”

DeMayo Goes on the Attack

Shortly after that filing, DeMayo took to OnlyFans to give his side of the story.

In a nearly 30-minute video, the former X-Men ’97 showrunner accused Marvel of fostering a “toxic environment” with “near criminal working conditions” that “turns individuals against one another, strokes paranoia to ensure compliance.”

Photo: Vulture

After acknowledging that he was not “everyone’s cup of tea,” DeMayo attacked. Denying any kind of wrongdoing, the writer says he was fired for “being gay, Black, and open about it at Marvel Studios.”

“The rumors being spread around me online are lies, and they are offensive but more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up the egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on X-Men ’97, all the way all the way to the top at Marvel Studios,” DeMayo asserted.

DeMayo “No Longer Felt Safe at the Studios as a Gay Black Man”

Looking back to the timing of his ouster, DeMayo says that after talking to Marvel HR, he “no longer felt safe at the studio as a gay Black man.”

Photo: Deadline

“In the end, the offenses Marvel and others have leaked are designed to distract you from what really offended them. Someone like me dared to speak truth to people like them. They wanted me to be the Black stamp of approval on this project, I declined.” he continued.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

“They wanted to erase aspects of my personality that clashed or proved inconvenient with the misguided narratives they wanted to establish. I declined. They tried to intimidate me with both explicit and implied threats. I was not intimidated. Everything they have done since then has been designed not just to silence me and smear me. But to crush me and to remind me to know my role.”

A Warning Shot

Finally, DeMayo brought things back to the current day.

“I have the receipts and the eyewitnesses so long as you stop coercing them to lie, you can keep attacking me with lies and misinformation, but we can become the ugliest, most annoying version of that of that … or you can start acting like a studio that is worthy of a show like X Men ‘97,” he concluded.

Photo: Deadline

While Marvel will be able to tell their version of events, DeMayo’s recent statements significantly raise the stakes. From the looks of things, we will soon have a massive court case on our hands.