Beau DeMayo Says Disney Stripped His ‘X-Men’ Season 2 Credits Over LGBTQ Pride Month Fan Art

ByHrvoje Milakovic Posted on
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Beau DeMayo, the original showrunner of ‘X-Men ’97’, recently spoke out about Disney removing his credit for the show’s upcoming second season. He claims the removal is linked to a fan art post he made celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month. On June 13, he received a letter from Marvel stating his season 2 credits were revoked. His Instagram post from June 4, which triggered the issue, showed Cyclops shirtless and celebrated Pride.

The revival of the ’90s classic, ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’, under the new title ‘X-Men ’97’, was first announced in November 2021. The series maintained the unique visual style of the original and brought back voice actors like Alison Sealy-Smith, George Buza, Cal Dodd, and Lenore Zann. It also introduced Theo James from ‘The White Lotus’ in a surprising role as the villain Bastion.

DeMayo was integral from the start and had been working on the second season by March 2024. However, just a week before the first episode aired on Disney+, he was let go. Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel Studios, described the separation vaguely, opting to say they ‘parted ways’ rather than using ‘fired’.

Winderbaum did acknowledge DeMayo’s passion and respect for the X-Men characters, praising his script work as the foundation that inspired the team. Despite this praise, the exact reasons behind DeMayo’s departure remain undisclosed.

DeMayo broke his silence in April after the fifth episode aired, revealing that this episode was central to his original pitch to Marvel back in November 2020. He aimed to reflect the complex growth from the simpler ’90s into today’s more challenging social landscape, focusing on identity and social justice.

He ended his recent social media thread by stating he would soon share more details but needed to step back to find a safer space where he could express himself freely. He encouraged followers to ‘stay tuned’ for further updates.

This shake-up raises questions about how creative contributions are recognized and handled, especially when personal expressions intersect with professional projects. It’s a situation that has caught the attention of many of us who grew up with the original series and now follow its revival with keen interest.

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