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Beau DeMayo lawyer responds to Marvel as X-Men '97 firing saga gets messier and messier
"No one who reported Beau to HR received an inappropriate photo or video. That is a bald faced lie and defamatory," a new statement from the former showrunner's legal representation reads.
Beau DeMayo is firing back at Marvel's claims around why he was fired from the animated series X-Men '97.
DeMayo was showrunner and the creator of Disney+'s popular, acclaimed, Emmy-nominated animated series X-Men '97, a continuation of the classic 90's X-Men animated series. However, just before the series premiered earlier this year, he was fired for then unknown reasons.
Now, after Marvel has alleged that he was fired due to misconduct, DeMayo's lawyer has issued a new statement.
"My client never sent lewd videos and photos to his direct reports. That is a bald faced lie and defamatory," read the statement, which was given to website The Streamrafter it inquired about rumors that DeMayo allegedly sent photos and videos of himself to people on his staff.
"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 onlyfans page. They let him be himself which allowed his creativity to thrive. 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," the statement continued. "Don't print this crap. It's wrong and defamatory."
On August 15, Marvel Studios released a statement saying that DeMayo was fired as showrunner of X-Men '97 due to "egregious" misconduct,
"Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation," Marvel Studios' statement read. "Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately and he has no further affiliation with Marvel."
While specifics were not given, Variety reported that a source "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."
Last week, DeMayo broke his silence and said that his name was stripped from the season 2 credits of the show after he posted Pride-themed X-Men fan art on social media.
"Above is #XMen fan-art I posted on Instagram for Gay Pride in June," he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "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."
"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," he added. "Stay tuned."
Now, his lawyer has made good on that promise.
We will update this story as it progresses.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
