Neil Gaiman, the bestselling fantasy author behind “The Sandman” comic books, and novels and shows “American Gods” and “Good Omens,” has emphatically denied ever engaging in nonconsensual sexual conduct after several women accused him of sexual assault in a New York magazine article.
Eight women accused the 64-year-old British scribe of assault, abuse and coercion in an article published Monday. Most of the allegations stemmed from the late ’90s to 2022, when he was living in the United States, Britain and New Zealand. Over the summer, five women — four of whom were interviewed for the New York article — made accusations against Gaiman in the Tortoise Media podcast “Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman,” claiming that the author asked them to call him “master” during their alleged sexual encounters.
Gaiman has sold more than 50 million copies of his books worldwide, several of which have been adapted for film and television. The author, who has forthcoming projects with Netflix and Prime Video, is one of the first modern comic-book writers to draw a large female readership. The allegations made by his accusers clash with the self-proclaimed feminist writer’s public persona. Many of the allegations against him involve domineering violence, a feature of BDSM that both parties must consent to, and seven out of the eight women interviewed for the story told New York writer Lila Shapiro that they had no interest in BDSM but at some point played along.
Gaiman, through his representatives, told the magazine that the encounters were all consensual. Then, in a lengthy statement posted Tuesday on his website, the “Good Omens” writer-producer said he has watched with “horror and dismay” as stories about him circulated online over many months. He said he stayed quiet until now “both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.”
“I’ve always tried to be a private person, and felt increasingly that social media was the wrong place to talk about important personal matters. I’ve now reached the point where I feel that I should say something,” he wrote. “As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
The “Beowulf” and “Coraline” screenwriter said he re-read messages he had exchanged with some of the women, particularly communication that had been reported as abusive. The messages, he said, “read now as they did when I received them — of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again. At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides.”
Gaiman also conceded that he “could have and should have done so much better.”
“I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with people’s hearts and feelings, and that’s something that I really, deeply regret. It was selfish of me. I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other people’s,” he wrote.
The author said he has spent months taking a long, hard look at himself and how he has made people feel, noting that he’s learning, “trying to do the work needed” and growing.
“I understand that not everyone will believe me or even care what I say but I’ll be doing the work anyway, for myself, my family and the people I love. I will be doing my very best to deserve their trust, as well as the trust of my readers,” he wrote.
“At the same time, as I reflect on my past — and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged — I don’t accept there was any abuse. To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone,” he said. “Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality. I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can’t accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn’t do.”
Resources for survivors of sexual assault
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual violence, you can find support using RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline. Call (800) 656-HOPE or visit online.rainn.org to speak with a trained support specialist.
One of the women in the New York story, drama student Scarlett Pavlovich, said she met Gaiman through his ex-wife, singer Amanda Palmer, when she was 22 and working as their son’s nanny while the family lived in New Zealand. She alleged that Gaiman abused her several times, forcing her to perform oral and anal sex and calling her a “slave.” Pavlovich, who was also among the women who first detailed her allegations on the “Master” podcast, alleged that Gaiman abused her in a bathtub on his property. She also told New York magazine that she filed a police report in January 2023.
According to the Associated Press, New Zealand police on Tuesday could not comment on whether Gaiman was, or had been, under investigation.
“In general, Police cannot respond to queries which seek to establish whether specific individuals are, or have been, under Police investigation. Additionally, anyone who makes a complaint to Police has the right to privacy,” New Zealand police told AP.
Another woman, identified as Caroline, claimed that Gaiman “didn’t have boundaries” and alleged that Gaiman assaulted her in a hotel room while his son was present. Kendra Stout said she met Gaiman at a book signing when she was 18 and alleged that the writer raped her in 2007. Katherine Kendall, who met Gaiman in 2012 when she was 22, alleged that Gaiman attempted to have sex with her on his tour bus and later gave her $60,000 to pay for therapy to “make up for the damage.”
Throughout the New York article, representatives for Gaiman responded to a few specific allegations — clarifying some, outright denying others and calling one of Pavlovich’s accounts “false, not to mention, deplorable.”
Representatives for Gaiman did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Gaiman remains locked in a contentious custody battle with Palmer, with whom he once had an open marriage and divorced in 2022.
