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Beau DeMayo, the creator of the Marvel Animation series X-Men ‘97 who was fired in March just weeks before the show’s premiere, has hit back at the studio that accused him of “egregious” misconduct.
Last month, Marvel put out a statement saying that DeMayo had been let go “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 studio said.
Now, Variety reports that DeMayo has responded with a 30-minute video he posted on Wednesday (September 4) to his OnlyFans profile.
“These allegations of egregious misconduct are false,” says DeMayo in the video.
“They are offensive,” he continues. “But more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on ‘X Men ’97’ all the way to the top of Marvel Studios.”
DeMayo alleges that he witnessed various forms of misconduct while working on X-Men ‘97, as well as during his time as a screenwriter on the long-gestating Blade reboot.
In the video, DeMayo goes on to claim that he has “the receipts and eyewitnesses” to prove misconduct, and hopes to relay them privately to Marvel and Disney “so that those responsible are able to receive what I was not a full and fair investigation away from the public eye.”
“This is me trying to do the right thing,” he says. “And this is Marvel’s chance to do the same.”
The Independent has approached Marvel Studios for comment.
During his time working on X-Men ’97, DeMayo had regularly posted tidbits about the show on social media, in addition to topless photos of himself.
Before he was fired in March, DeMayo had reportedly already begun loose discussions about season three’s storylines with his team. He had also been scheduling press appearances and was preparing to attend the show’s Los Angeles premiere.
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It isn’t unusual for Marvel, or any studio, to part ways with writers. However, it is rarer for top creatives on a Marvel project to cancel press and miss a premiere so suddenly, per The Hollywood Reporter.
DeMayo was first hired by Marvel in November 2021. His hiring was celebrated by fans and others in the industry as several of the X-Men ’97 characters and storylines he wrote were influenced by his identity as a Black gay man.
