X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has leveled some major accusations against Marvel Studios and Disney during his time on the animated revival as well as his unrealized Blade project. DeMayo was publicly fired by Marvel Studios two weeks before X-Men ’97 aired, revealing later that it was due to his “egregious behavior.” The revelation came following DeMayo’s statement on social media that he was fired and removed from the show’s upcoming Season 2 for posting LGBTQ+-themed fan art. DeMayo previously said this was part of Disney’s tactic to discredit him and would come out with his side of the story. DeMayo recently told fans that he would reveal secrets about what happened on his OnlyFans, and Varietyhas reported on some of the highlights from what DeMayo had to say:

“These allegations of egregious misconduct are false. They are offensive but more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on ‘X Men ’97’ all the way to the top of Marvel Studios.”

DeMayo alleges that he both experienced and witnessed misconduct while working as a showrunner on X-Men ’97 and during a brief stint as a screenwriter on Marvel Studios’ Blade. This included a racist remark, with DeMayo revealing that an unnamed Marvel executive joked in front of him that they’d hired “a young Wesley Snipes” to write on Blade.” In another case, he claims that a producer made an inappropriate sexual comment to DeMayo while at a barbecue.

Continuing, DeMayo also mentions a HR case that was ignored after he notified a producer on X-Men ’97 that supposedly “one of our leads is having a potentially exploitative sexual relationship with a PA,” with DeMayo claiming the producer buried his report and informed the individual in question of DeMayo’s complaint.

DeMayo alleges that his identity as a gay, Black man was “weaponized by Marvel execs and select crew members to undermine me” and use “the same dog-whistling stereotypes favored by bigots for decades: He’s big, he’s intimidating, too opinionated, angry, emotional, flamboyant, dramatic, a pervert.” When DeMayo requested to contact RuPaul’s Drag Race producers about promoting X-Men ’97, he was told “by Marvel that they wouldn’t want to alienate certain audiences.”

DeMayo also alleges that Marvel’s public relations department listed topics like “homosexuality…school shootings, the Gaza conflict and abortion” as hot-button issues to avoid. You can read more of DeMayo’s statement below:

“In the end, the offenses Marvel and others have leaked are designed to distract you from what really offended them. Someone like me dared to speak truth to people like them. They wanted me to be the Black stamp of approval on this project, I declined. They wanted to erase aspects of my personality that clashed or proved inconvenient with the misguided narratives they wanted to establish. I declined. They tried to intimidate me with both explicit and implied threats. I was not intimidated. Everything they have done since then has been designed not just to silence me and smear me, but to crush me and to remind me to know my role.”

‘Near Criminal Working Conditions’ for VFX & Animation Artists at Marvel

DeMayo’s side of the story certainly adds a new perspective to things. Some of it aligns with what fans know about Marvel Studios productions, with DeMayo referencing the company’s terrible history of treating VFX artists. He alleges there are “near criminal working conditions” for VFX and animation artists at Marvel and that people who worked on X-Men ’97 were seemingly losing weight and their mental health was suffering, but when DeMayo supposedly tried to contact Marvel leadership about it, he experienced “retaliation.” However, it is not specified what he means by that.

But other claims made by DeMayo seem a little more questionable. He paints himself as a heroic figure fighting for the fans, such as claiming that he fought Marvel executives over his desire to adapt previous storylines from the X-Men comics rather than create brand-new stories for the show, something which he says Marvel Studios desired. He claims they called him “uncollaborative, too difficult and too much of a fanboy” and says “They openly resented me fighting for the fans.” All of which could be interpreted as a way to rally fans around him as he faces these ongoing allegations.

This is likely far from the end of the story regarding what happened behind the scenes of X-Men ’97. DeMayo’s accusations against Marvel and Disney should be taken seriously, as should the accusations against him. DeMayo has gained some praise for speaking out but also a fair share of criticism, with many taking issue with his decision to put his revelations behind a paywall. It seems like only a matter of time before more details emerge about what happened, and we await a statement from Marvel and Disney.