Neil Gaiman, the British author behind celebrated works like ‘Good Omens‘, ‘American Gods‘, ‘Coraline‘, and ‘The Sandman‘, is under fire again as fresh allegations of sexual misconduct emerge. A recent exposé published by the New York Magazine has brought forward new allegations from four women, which include non-consensual BDSM and encounters with young fans.
The magazine’s cover story, titled “There Is No Safe Word,” follows the July 2024 release of the Tortoise Media podcast ‘Master’, which highlighted earlier accusations from five women.
Among the accusers is a former babysitter for Gaiman and his ex-wife, musician Amanda Palmer. The victim alleges that in February 2022, Gaiman sexually assaulted her in a backyard bathtub in New Zealand.
She details several such incidents in graphic details, one of which occurred in a hotel room, where Gaiman allegedly assaulted her under the blankets while his young son was present in the room.
Gaiman’s representatives have denied these allegations, describing them as “false, not to mention, deplorable.”
The victim filed a police report against the best-selling author in January 2023, accusing him of sexual assault, but the investigation was eventually dropped.
According to Tortoise Media, Gaiman “strongly denies any allegations of non-consensual sex with the women and adds New Zealand police did not take up his offer of assistance over one woman’s complaint.”
Another victim has detailed an encounter with Gaiman in the 1990s. According to her, what began as a meeting at a book signing escalated to a disturbing sexual interaction years later at a horror convention.
“He wanted me to call him ‘master’ immediately… It was like he’d gone into this ritual that had nothing to do with me,” the victim told the New York Magazine.
The babysitter, too, has alleged the use of the term ‘master’ by Gaiman on multiple occasions. She also alleged she was made to lick her own vomit and faeces by the multiple-award winning author.
The allegations have sparked widespread backlash, with prominent figures voicing their opinions. Author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, JK Rowling, remarked on the allegations, drawing parallels to jailed Hollywood honcho Harvey Weinstein’s case.
“The literary crowd that had a hell of a lot to say about Harvey Weinstein before he was convicted has been strangely muted in its response to multiple accusations against Neil Gaiman from young women who’d never met, yet—as with Weinstein—tell remarkably similar stories,” Rowling tweeted.
Their silence is deafening
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 13, 2025
Billionaire Elon Musk replied in the comments saying, “Their silence is deafening.”
The projects Gaiman has been associated with have been cancelled or delayed following the allegations. ‘Good Omens’ which was set to have a third season, will now only have a 90-minute episode. Disney has also paused its film adaption of Gaiman’s ‘The Graveyard Book’.
The author has previously defended himself, stating through representatives that the encounters in question were “consensual.”
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