Neil Gaiman accused of sexual assault by 9 women in Vulture report

On By Littum

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Four new allegations emerge among nearly a dozen accusations by women who say award-winning author Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted them.

Vulture released a report Monday outlining the new allegations against Gaiman, as well as allegations that were first revealed last year. Gaiman, 64, is the famed English fantasy author behind “The Sandman,” “Good Omens,” “American Gods” and “Coraline,” all of which have been turned into film and television adaptations, among others.

ONE six-episode podcast series from the British media outlet Tortoise, entitled “Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman,” during the summer of 2024, first outlined five allegations of sexual assault. Vulture’s investigation includes four claims of “sharing elements with theirs,” and the outlet is said to have reviewed texts, diary entries, emails with friends and police communications.

The youngest alleged victim was 18, but most of the women were in their 20s when the alleged abuses took place, while Gaiman was in his 40s or older, with one exception where one woman claims the author forcibly kissed him in 1986 ( when Gaiman was in his mid-20s). Some of the women were fans and a few worked with him at the time of the alleged incidents.

Gaiman’s representatives have responded to some outlets, claiming the incidents were consensual and instances of the practice of BDSM (bondage, discipline/dominance, submission/sadism and masochism).

USA TODAY has reached out to Gaiman’s representatives for comment.

One woman, Scarlett Pavlovich, explained that she began working as a nanny for Gaiman’s then-divorced second wife, Amanda Palmer, in 2022 when Gaiman allegedly assaulted her in a bathtub on his property. After surprising Pavlovich and joining her in a bath, she said Gaiman carried on a conversation before he physically assaulted her and told her to call him “master.” As Pavlovich continued to babysit, she recalled several alleged incidents of forced oral and anal sex without lubrication—she says at one point she passed out from the pain—as well as being forced to ingest her own waste, all while being called a “slave”. .”

Another woman, named Kendall, recalled that Gaiman allegedly forced himself on top of her and kissed her on a tour bus in 2012. A woman, named Kendra Stout, recalled a relationship with Gaiman that began in 2003, and she claims , that at times it became physically torturous. to beat her or subject her to rough sex. Stout explained to the outlet an instance where she told Gaiman they couldn’t have sex because she had a painful urinary tract infection, but he ignored her wishes.

Vulture also spoke to the friends of his second wife, now ex, who claimed the couple had an open relationship. One woman, referred to as the pseudonym Rachel, allegedly began a relationship with Palmer before Palmer introduced her to Gaiman. Although Rachel told Vulture that her experiences with Gaiman involved demands that often scared her or hurt her.

Gaiman and Palmer divorced in 2022. According to Vulture’s report and interviews with her friends, Gaiman’s actions appear to have contributed to the divorce, although it appears that Palmer also knew about some of these incidents when she asked Pavlovich to babysit his son.

Pavlovich claims she eventually told Palmer about the incidents, including one in which Pavlovich was raped and forced to consume Gaiman’s urine while his child was in the same room, which apparently shocked Palmer and prompted her to suggest Gaiman get counseling. Vulture reports that the author never attended.

Since last summer, some projects associated with Gaiman have reportedly been put on hold or trimmed. IndieWire reported in September that Disney had put its adaptation of Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” on hold. And Deadline reported in October that the Amazon Prime Video series “Good Omens” would end with a 90-minute TV movie episode, as opposed to a full third season.

Netflix has yet to comment on the future of its TV adaptation of “The Sandman,” based on the DC Comic, which would be gearing up for its third season.

USA TODAY has reached out to Disney, Prime Video and Netflix for more information.

This story has been updated to add additional information and correct an inaccuracy.