The possible reasons why Beau DeMayo was let go from both The Witcher and Marvel’s X-Men ’97 have become known.
The accusations include claims that Beau DeMayo sent nudes of himself to co-workers and staffers, allegedly groped an assistant, and is accused of emotionally and physically abusing those he worked with.
Late last night, things escalated on X and in the trades when Beau DeMayo initially claimed that the reason he was dropped from the credits of X-Men ’97 Season 2 was due to posting Marvel Gay Pride art of himself as Cyclops. Marvel then responded through the trades, leading DeMayo to fire back on X, even going so far as to call Disney+ a disaster.
Now, Jeff Sneider’s sources have weighed in with the alleged details of why Beau DeMayo was fired from both The Witcher and X-Men ’97.
Via Jeff Sneider’s sources:
Sent inappropriate nude photos of himself
The allegations include Beau DeMayo sent inappropriate nude photos of himself to young male staffers. These photos allegedly depicted DeMayo wearing superhero costumes and striking sexually suggestive poses intended as “inspiration” for the show. Despite being asked to stop, Sneider’s sources claim DeMayo persisted, with one insider stating, “If you were a guy who looked like they could be under 30 on that show, you have his nudes whether you wanted them or not.”
Groped an assistant multiple times
Further accusations suggest that DeMayo also groped an assistant multiple times and exhibited both emotional and physical abuse towards staffers, although specific incidents were not detailed.
Similar behavior on The Witcher
The controversy extends to DeMayo’s past, as Sneider’s sources indicate that he was allegedly dismissed from Netflix’s The Witcher for similarly “troubled” behavior and misconduct.
Brad Winderbaum criticized
Sneider’s report also notes that the decision to hire DeMayo at Marvel has been criticized, with Brad Winderbaum — the Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios — being singled out for not thoroughly investigating DeMayo’s history.
Kevin Feige absolved
The report says, Kevin Feige, however, is largely uninvolved in the hiring process for Marvel’s animated projects and has been absolved of blame.
Stripped of EP credit not writing credit
Sneider claims that in response to the allegations, Marvel is reportedly stripping DeMayo of his Executive Producer credit for Season 2 of X-Men ’97, not his writing credits.
Beau DeMayo’s lawyer responds to Marvel
The lawyer for Beau DeMayo also issued a statement to Deadline earlier today in response to Marvel’s statement.
Deadline indicates this could indicate legal action may be coming soon. The site also says the lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has handled some of Hollywood’s biggest wrongful termination cases of the past few years.
“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.
“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,” Freedman 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.”
As for his client, “Beau DeMayo wants nothing from Marvel/Disney except the truth,” Freedman said. “He will bravely tell the truth. So will I. Stand by.”
Update: Freedman responded to Jeff Sneider’s claims as well as similar claims made by The Streamr:
You realize that Disney allowed Beau to have an Only Fans page while working for the company. No clue if someone quit while he was showrunner but that’s like every single day on every single show.
My client never sent lewd videos and photos to his direct reports. That is a bald faced lie and defamatory.
No one who reported Beau to HR received an inappropriate photo or video. That is simply untrue. As a proud gay black man, Disney knew exactly who he was and what he stood up for. That’s why they did not tell him to stop his only fans page. They let him be himself which allowed his creativity to thrive. When they objected to his free speech rights and not complying with illegal NDA’s a certain person over there tried to replace him because he was becoming more successful than other creators.
Ask Disney if his separation agreement illegally silenced him. Let me know what they say.
Don’t print this crap. It’s wrong and defamatory.
