Former X-Men '97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has spoken at length about his controversial departure from Marvel Studios, addressing his firing, an ongoing legal battle with the company, and his increasingly explicit OnlyFans account in a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair.
DeMayo had already finished writing X-Men '97 Season 2 before being dismissed just 16 days before the series premiered in March 2024. At the time, Disney 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."
Months later, the trades reported that a source with knowledge of the situation claimed "evidence was discovered of sexual misconduct" during Marvel's investigation. DeMayo has consistently denied those allegations, stating in a September 2024 video, "These allegations of egregious misconduct are false. The rumours being spread around me online are lies, and they are offensive."
That same month, DeMayo filed a lawsuit against Marvel seeking relief from a non-disparagement agreement he alleges he was pressured into signing after his dismissal. The case remains active and is currently scheduled to go to trial in July 2027.
During these newly published conversations with the site—until he went silent on them—DeMayo claimed he faced discrimination while working at Marvel because he is "a queer Black man." He alleged colleagues would tell him, "Oh, you don't look like a showrunner," adding that there was "that vibe that I was the DEI hire."
The writer also addressed his online presence, revealing that Marvel was aware of his OnlyFans account before his firing. "It was cleared," DeMayo said, adding, "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.'"
He also explained why he became more comfortable posting revealing content online. "People always ask questions about my Instagram and how sex positive it is or thirsty," DeMayo said. "When I was growing up, I had such a massive shame about my body and physical appearance, both racially and sexually. The more I confronted that, the more proud I became of it."
However, since parting ways with Marvel, DeMayo's OnlyFans account has become increasingly explicit, including "full frontal nude photos of DeMayo masturbating, playing with sex toys, and, in at least one video, a 'collab' with another male partner."
That wasn't the case when he was working on X-Men '97, though, and according to DeMayo, Disney HR contacted him while he was at the gym to question him about misconduct allegations before informing him he was being terminated. He also claimed he was pressured into signing an exit agreement containing an NDA.
Following his departure, DeMayo became increasingly outspoken about Marvel on social media. He also alleged that the studio accused him of violating his exit agreement after he shared fan art depicting him as Cyclops during Pride Month.
"I remember sitting there the entire time being sick to my stomach that this was going to become an issue, and that Marvel was going to come at me for this," he said. "It’s like, 'Here I am hanging out with my community, and I don’t feel safe anymore because of this studio.'"
Despite being warned that posting the image had broken his NDA and that his name would be removed from Season 2's credits, DeMayo still retains creator, executive producer, and writer credits on X-Men '97's second batch of episodes, which premiered on Disney+ today.
The feature notes that while DeMayo completed the scripts for season 2 before his firing, they were reportedly revised following his departure under supervising producer Jake Castorena.
One source tells the site, "He’s the most talented writer I know. [The OnlyFans thing] is not going to make it easier for him. If you were a white straight dude, would this kill his career as well? I don’t know."
Another added, "So much of it is just this narcissistic need for people to watch him. I think he needs approval, which is obvious considering his background. I get it. Now that he can’t get that from X-Men, I think this is the next easy way to do it—or not easy, but the next avenue for him. I don’t know if he would be doing it if he was still working."
X-Men '97 is now streaming on Disney+.