X-Men ‘97 was supposed to be Beau DeMayo’s next big project, however he abruptly exited the project before its premiere in March 2024. At that time, DeMayo had already penned the scripts for Seasons 1 and 2. According to a recent social media post, DeMayo believes he lost his Season 2 credit on the series over sharing Gay Pride-themed fan art.
Per Deadline, the writer/creator for X-Men ‘97 took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his frustration with Marvel. “Above is #XMen fan-art I posted on Instagram for Gay Pride in June,” he said in the post. “On June 13, Marvel sent a letter notifying me that they’d stripped my Season 2 credits due to the post. Sadly, this is the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through while on working on X-Men ’97 and Blade.” DeMayo also made sure to acknowledge the talent and dedication of everyone that worked on X-Men ‘97 and thanked fans for their continued support of the series. Disney, for their part, has been adamant about denying these allegations. They have alleged that DeMayo’s removal was related to sexual misconduct, and was unrelated to the Pride-themed social media post.
Bryan Freedman is a prominent American lawyer who has handled cases for the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Downey Jr., and Julia Roberts. He is DeMayo’s chosen legal counsel, and has responded to Disney’s comments about DeMayo’s credit removal in Season 2 of X-Men ‘97. “Having much experience with Disney, the playbook is always the same. Family friendly on the outside, but secretly attempting to plant illegal unconscionable items in contracts that silence the truth and stop the employee/customer from asserting basic constitutional rights,” Freedman said.
Disney is currently in hot water over another controversial lawsuit. The House of Mouse is currently trying to have a widower’s wrongful death lawsuit dismissed, since the man signed up for a Disney+ trial years earlier. Jeffrey J. Piccolo sued Disney Parks and Resort over the death of his wife Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan after she ate food containing allergens at a restaurant in Disney World (despite being very clear about her allergies). The company has stated that the terms of service for the free trial include giving up the right to litigation.
It Remains Unclear What Exactly Led to Beau DeMayo’s Exit
Freedman went on to say, “As we will explain through detailed examples which we will roll out in detail one by one, Disney’s model is very clear and a repetitive illegal pattern.” The lawyer continued, “Once it gets challenged or exposed, the gaslighting and redirection of the blame toward anyone willing to tell the truth starts through an international well oiled publicity machine.” He also clarified that Beau DeMayo “wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth. He will bravely tell the truth. So will I. Stand by,” hinting that there may be further legal action.
