Beau DeMayo recently shared more details about his experiences with Marvel Studios after claiming the company tried to smear and silence him about his firing from ‘X-Men ’97.’
“This happens a lot more than you think. Often, it’s done subtly,” he wrote on X in response to a news article alleging that Disney toned down the LGBTQ+ elements in ‘Inside Out 2.’ “For example, the ‘X-Men ’97’ crew and I fought hard to have Storm’s skin tone darker and more accurate to her heritage versus the OG show.”
“Marvel noted that if we’re being so accurate about her skin color, then Storm shouldn’t have white hair either,” the Season 1 showrunner continued. “These sort of micro-aggressive notes are designed to domino backwards to kill the initial idea, as Marvel knows we’re not changing Storm’s hair color.”
“Then came the usual racist ‘Well if Storm’s too dark, we won’t be able to see her in nighttime or dark scenes.’ We went ahead and did it anyway. Turns out there’s a thing in animation called ‘lighting.’”
Storm’s portrayal received criticism for not accurately reflecting her African heritage over the years. Even Alexandra Shipp, who played the mutant in ‘Dark Phoenix,’ voiced her support for casting a darker-skinned actress for the role in future projects.
Other characters also faced similar issues. Marvel and DeMayo himself received backlash about the Afro-Brazilian Robert da Costa/Sunspot’s skin color last year. The writer left social media for a while because of the reactions.
Now, though, he’s shared, “Finally can address this! Marvel insisted he be Latino. I did push to darken his skin to reflect his Afro-Brazilian heritage but was given a flat-out ‘No.’”
The studio fired DeMayo earlier this year, citing inappropriate actions with staff members. But the showrunner denied the allegations, saying homophobia was the real reason and promising to reveal more details on his OnlyFans soon.
This happens a lot more than you think. Often, it’s done more subtly. For example, the #xmen97 crew and I fought hard to have Storm’s skin tone darker and more accurate to her heritage versus the OG show… https://t.co/X2YPe2mgsm
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) September 17, 2024
Then came the usual racist “well if Storm’s too dark, we won’t be able to see her in nighttime or dark scenes.” 🙄
We went ahead and did it anyway.
Turns out there’s a thing in animation called “lighting.”
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) September 17, 2024
