Marvel has broken its silence on the abrupt firing of “X-Men '97” creator Beau DeMayo after he accused the studio of removing his credits for the show's second season.
Disney’s superhero television and film channel said it “terminated” DeMayo ahead of the March premiere of “X-Men ’97” after conducting an internal investigation, a Marvel spokesman said in a statement shared with The Times. “Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately and he has no further affiliation with Marvel,” the statement said.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of DeMayo's departure a week before the animated show, a continuation of the '90s series, was set to arrive on Disney+. He completed work on Season 1 and Season 2 before his dismissal, for which Marvel did not disclose a reason at the time.
A source familiar with DeMayo’s firing told The Times on Friday that the studio’s internal investigation involved alleged sexual misconduct. DeMayo has continued to post about “X-Men 97” on social media, violating the terms of the termination agreement the source said he reached with the studio in March.
In June, DeMayo shared a photo on Instagram of a fan drawing that showed an animated version of him shirtless and wearing the gear of “X-Men” mutant Cyclops, including his signature glasses. “Happy Pride!” DeMayo wrote in the caption of the fan illustration. He said Thursday that Marvel sent him a letter in June “notifying me that I had been removed from Season 2 credits due” to the Pride Month post.
He also tweeted that it was “the latest of the troubling patterns I suffered through while working on #XMen97 and #Blade.” He was reportedly one of the writers on early drafts of the delayed reboot. After raising his allegations against Marvel, DeMayo said he would be stepping away from social media “to find a safer space to be gay, proud, and nerdy.”
The source said Marvel removed DeMayo's second-season credits after Marvel repeatedly warned him that he was violating the separation agreement. The studio also felt it necessary to address DeMayo's exit following his recent social media posts, the source added.
Attorney Bryan J. Freedman, who represents DeMayo, accused Marvel’s parent company, Disney, of engaging in a “repetitive pattern of unlawful conduct” in a statement shared with The Times on Friday.
“Once it’s called into question or exposed, it starts to be manipulated and blame redirected to anyone willing to tell the truth through a well-oiled international publicity machine,” Freedman said. “The problem for Disney is that when they’re confronted with someone who has concrete evidence that this happened over 100 times, many of which has led them to settle hundreds if not thousands of cases, to try to keep control over critics, employees and even lawyers who are suing them.”
He added: “The problem for them is that I have the evidence and the clients willing to be honest and they know it.”
The first season of “X-Men '97” debuted on Disney+ on March 20 and received praise from critics and audiences alike. Season 1 concluded on May 15 with a three-part episode titled “Tolerance Is Extinction.”
In another tweet shared on Thursday, DeMayo responded to reports of Marvel’s rebuttal. “The truth will be revealed,” he wrote.
“After the Disney Plus disaster, Marvel wants to mislead with alleged breaches of contract via tweets,” he continued. “It’s tragic that it’s come to this, but not surprising. Stay tuned.”
