A dismissed showrunner on the highly anticipated Marvel series “X-Men ’97” was let go because he was “an absolute nightmare to deal with” in addition to having an OnlyFans account that Disney executives found “creepy,” according to an insider report.
Beau DeMayo has become a cause célèbre on nerd social media spaces since he was let go just before the premiere of the long-awaited series which continued the animated X-Men series initially aired between 1992 and 1997 on Fox.
DeMayo was supposed to be at the Disney+ series’ debut last Wednesday and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was talking about ideas for a third season of the show with his staff. (Writing for two seasons of “X-Men ’97” has already wrapped.)
However, sometime during the first week of March, DeMayo was unexpectedly let go. The last post on his X account was on March 5 and his Instagram account was deleted before being reinstated.
#XMen97 #xmen #Marvel pic.twitter.com/DxovRRgOLC
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) March 5, 2024
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“I can’t talk about the details,” said Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios’ head of streaming, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “but I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters and wrote what I think are excellent scripts that really the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from [to] build this amazing show that’s on screen.”
When asked if he would call it a firing, Winderbaum said “I don’t. ‘We parted ways’ is the best way I could say.”
However, a parting ways on such short notice before the gala premiere led to much speculation on social media, including that DeMayo was fired in part for being a gay black man. There were also reports that his OnlyFans, while non-explicit, had been a deciding factor in getting rid of him.
Should Beau DeMayo have been fired?
Let’s gang up together to get #BeauDemayo rehired on #Xmen97. Yall support James Gunn but won’t support a black queer man. pic.twitter.com/LAGKzgK6Tl
— D. Antonio White (@D_Antonio69) March 12, 2024
The Hollywood Reporter seemed to give credence to this interpretation of things, pressing the matter of DeMayo’s identification as a gay man and the flooding of his social media accounts with “shirtless pictures of himself at the gym.”
However, according to a report by Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, DeMayo wasn’t canned for sociopolitical reasons — although his OnlyFans did skeeve Disney executives out — but rather because he created a toxic work environment.
“[DeMayo] is a nice guy, but impossible to deal with,” a source told Sneider.
“Like, truly an absolute nightmare to deal with on a daily basis. He’s been really annoying them [Marvel leadership] for a while now, and it has nothing to do with the fact that there’s a lot of diversity and LGBTQ stuff in X-Men. It’s just that he’s really prickly and difficult to work with.”
Sneider also noted that the “insider also suggested that DeMayo’s activity on OnlyFans did not go over well with his Disney bosses, who found some of his behavior ‘creepy.’”
As FandomWire noted, while DeMayo in the Marvel fanbase, he also has a history of being combative with said fanbase on social media, as well.
Whatever the case, the reaction to either DeMayo’s toxicity or his “creepy” social media behavior drew criticism from many on X.
Disney Marvel hired a gay black man #BeauDeMayo to be the showrunner for #XMen97, which is a cartoon that’s meant for children. After getting hired, he created an explicit social media account on OnlyFans. He was let go from Disney (allegedly), 7 days before the show premier.…
— Defiant Baptist (@DefiantBaptist) March 15, 2024
🤯 Gay Discorders & OF stalkers are crying themselves to sleep tonight! (p) I appreciated #BeauDemayo’s love for the #XMen but he was over-sexualized while the face of a cartoon show IMO. Crazy timing. He couldn’t seem to keep his zipper on safety 🤐 (p) Not the 1st time either. pic.twitter.com/wYm1oZbiqL
— Everyone Loves A Good Story™️ (@3vry1lvsgdstry) March 12, 2024
What this means for the franchise going forward is anyone’s guess, given that the first season doesn’t debut on Disney+ until this Wednesday. A second season seems all but assured, however.
“I’ve now seen versions of animatics for the entire second season,” Winderbaum told Entertainment Weekly. “Obviously, when you’re in that stage, there’s a lot of work to do. It’s editorial, but it’s also still iterative because there’s still story to be worked out when you put it on its feet in that way. We’re going to start development on the third season very soon.”
The only thing certain at the moment, however, is that DeMayo won’t be a part of it.
