Comic books and superhero flicks are no strangers to controversy, and the most recent drama to surface concerns Beau DeMayo, the writer of Disney’s upcoming animated show, X-Men ‘97.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel appears to have fired DeMayo, an openly gay writer, who previously made headlines for taking Henry Cavill’s side in The Witcher controversy. Well, it appears that DeMayo’s extracurricular activities may have gotten him into trouble with Marvel executives. Indeed, he was let go by Marvel for allegedly creating an OnlyFans account.
In addition to working on The Witcher, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, De Mayo was previously the producer and writer for Moon Knight, another Marvel television series. Both Marvel and DeMayo’s representatives declined to comment to the outlet about the firing, which reportedly happened early last week.
Creator of X-Men ‘97 Beau DeMayo Fired Before Disney+ Series Debut?
The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Marvel Studios fired writer-producer Beau DeMayo just before the premiere of the Disney+ Marvel TV series X-Men ’97.
Growing up in an adopted family as a gay Black man (see ET), DeMayo also wrote for Moon Knight and helped with early drafts of the upcoming Blade film. However, THR reported that Marvel and DeMayo had called it quits as of last week. According to the report, DeMayo’s Instagram account was deleted and his business email was deactivated.
Although the show’s crew was informed of his departure, an official reason for his firing has not yet been provided. Marvel declined to comment when THR reached out to them. According to the outlet, DeMayo is no longer booking press for the impending X-Men ’97 premiere or attending it, which is why this situation is different.
When his Instagram page was live, DeMayo answered a lot of fan questions concerning the X-Men. It looks like his OnlyFans account has also been deleted. That being stated, Pop Tingz speculated that he was fired for allegedly creating an account on OnlyFans.
In addition to his Marvel credits, DeMayo wrote several episodes of The Witcher on Netflix.
The Witcher: Beau DeMayo Earlier Defended Henry Cavill’s Stance
Beau DeMayo and Henry Cavill both expressed their strong support for the original work of The Witcher and demanded that the Netflix adaptation treat it as such. The former member of the writing team, Beau DeMayo, who wrote two episodes of The Witcher and the anime Nightmare of the Wolf, commented on some of the attitudes he felt were present back when he was working on The Witcher regarding the books.
As part of a Q&A session about the process of putting together the writing team for his upcoming animated X-Men 97 project for Marvel, DeMayo answered a question on Instagram Story (via The Direct). He retorted that his requirement for the new writers was that they “had to be fans” of the X-Men. He then went into further detail about his previous work on projects with well-established fandoms:
“I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not [fans] or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material). It’s a recipe for disaster and bad morale. Fandom as a litmus test checks egos, and makes all the long nights worth it. You have to respect the work before you’re allowed to add to its legacy.”
He did not mention names, of course. That is a significant statement, though.
We can only hope that Marvel will change their mind and welcome DeMayo back into the fold in the interim. A universe as vast and diverse as the Marvel Cinematic Universe must have room for a writer with a side gig on OnlyFans?
The first two episodes of X-Men ’97 will stream on Disney+ on March 20, 2024. The remaining ten episodes of the first season will be released every week until May 15.
Also, The Witcher is available on Netflix.
