Author Neil Gaiman has denied all allegations against him after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in a New York Magazine article, writing in a lengthy statement: “I have never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
In July, a podcast investigation by Tortoise media reported allegations by two women of sexual assault against Gaiman. One of the women alleged that Gaiman had performed sexual acts on her without her consent when she was 22 and working as a nanny for the author’s family in New Zealand. Gaiman strongly denied any wrongdoing at the time, saying all of his sexual relationships were consensual.
After the podcast was released, a woman who had worked as Gaiman’s caretaker in upstate New York alleged that he had put pressure on her to have sex with him in return for letting her live at his property, then made her sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for a $275,000 payment (€266,854). Gaiman said at the time that his relationship with her had been entirely consensual.
New York Magazine reported this week that more women had made accusations against Gaiman, including claims of sexual assault, sexual misconduct and coercion. The magazine interviewed eight women, six on the record, including four women who participated in the Tortoise podcast series.
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All of the women who spoke to New York Magazine on the record said they had been in a consensual sexual relationship with the author at points but claimed he preferred rough sex and BDSM activities that they had not always consented to beforehand. The two women who had worked for him said they felt coerced within the relationship as they worked for Gaiman and lived on his property.
In the full statement published on his website on Tuesday, Gaiman said he had refrained from speaking publicly about the allegations “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” but added: “I’ve now reached the point where I feel that I should say something.”
While he acknowledged “there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t” in the New York Magazine article, he denied committing sexual assault, writing: “I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
While he still believed his relationships with all of the women were “entirely consensual sexual relationships” based on their communications with him at the time, he said he had spent months reflecting on how he had conducted himself in relationships.
“I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been,” 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 nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone.”
He said some of the “horrible” allegations “simply never happened” and that 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.”
Gaiman’s representatives previously told Tortoise that “sexual degradation, bondage, domination, sadism and masochism may not be to everyone’s taste, but between consenting adults, BDSM is lawful”.
A complaint accusing Gaiman of a sexual assault was made to New Zealand police in January 2023 but the investigation was eventually dropped.
Since the allegations came to light, three screen adaptations of Gaiman’s works have been cancelled or had their production paused, including Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives, the third and final season of the Amazon drama Good Omens, and a Disney adaptation of The Graveyard Book, which was in development. None of the streaming services confirmed that these decisions were taken because of the allegations but Deadline reported that Gaiman had stepped back from his involvement in Good Omens due to the allegations. – Guardian
