‘X-Men ’97’ Creator Beau DeMayo Claims Marvel Treated Him Like a “DEI Hire” Despite Being Honest About OnlyFans

Beau DeMayo is once again speaking publicly about his departure from Marvel, saying he was open with the company about his personal life and claiming he faced discrimination while working on X-Men ’97.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, DeMayo looked back on his time at Marvel Studios Animation and discussed the events leading up to his firing in March 2024. The writer and producer said Marvel knew about his OnlyFans account long before he was removed from the animated series. According to DeMayo, the company had no issue with his work on the platform as long as it remained separate from Marvel projects.

“It was cleared,” he told Vanity Fair. “It was like, ‘It is your personal life. As long as you’re not advertising the show on your OnlyFans, as long as you’re keeping it very separate from the content of the show, it’s outside of their purview.’”

DeMayo also claimed he often felt like he was not taken seriously because of his identity. He said people made comments about how he looked, which left him feeling that he had been hired only to meet diversity goals rather than because of his work. “There was that vibe that I was the DEI hire, where, ‘Oh, they just got a gay Black guy because he checks all the marks and it’s X-Men,’” he said. He also recalled hearing remarks like, “Oh, you don’t look like a showrunner,” and “You don’t look like a writer.”

DeMayo was the creator and head writer of X-Men ’97, the animated revival of the classic X-Men series. Before the first season even premiered, Marvel had already renewed the show for a second season. During that time, DeMayo was also asked to help with rewrites on Marvel’s Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, DeMayo said things became worse after he returned from working on Blade. “Some of those racist, sexist, homophobic vibes that I was getting before Blade became much more explicit,” he said.

Marvel removed DeMayo from X-Men ’97 just days before the series premiered on Disney+ in March 2024. By that point, he had already finished writing both the first and second seasons. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, the show received strong reviews from critics and fans. DeMayo said the experience had a serious effect on him personally.

“It’s been very traumatic,” he explained. “I thought I was in a safe space, and then quickly found out that I was not in a safe space. My therapist is well employed.”

The dispute between DeMayo and Marvel continued after his departure. Later in 2024, DeMayo said Marvel had removed his writing credits from Season 2 after he shared X-Men fan art during Pride Month. He claimed the decision was part of a larger pattern of how he was treated while working on both X-Men ’97 and Blade.

Marvel responded with a public statement after those claims. A spokesperson said, “Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 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 company did not provide additional details. However, according to Marvel sources cited at the time, the investigation involved allegations of sexual misconduct. Those sources also claimed DeMayo lost his Season 2 credits because he violated the terms of the separation agreement between him and the company.

DeMayo has strongly denied those allegations. In 2024, he called them “false” and accused Disney of trying to shift attention away from the real issues. His attorney, Bryan Freedman, also defended him in a public statement. “Beau DeMayo wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth,” Freedman said. “He will bravely tell the truth. So will I. Stand by.” The disagreement between DeMayo and Marvel remains unresolved, with both sides continuing to stand by their own versions of what happened.

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