The best-selling author of The Sandman, Good Omens, and American Gods, Neil Gaiman, has been accused of sexual assault by two women with whom he was in consensual relationships. The allegations, which span two decades, are currently under police investigation in New Zealand.
Gaiman has strongly denied any allegations of non-consensual sex. He maintains that the New Zealand police did not pursue his offer of assistance regarding one woman’s complaint in 2022, suggesting a lack of substantive evidence. New Zealand police, however, stated that they have made multiple attempts to contact key individuals as part of their investigation, noting that the case’s complexity is compounded by the locations of all involved parties.
The allegations against Sandman’s Neil Gaiman span over two decades.
The accusations involve two young women who encountered Gaiman in different contexts – one as a nanny for his child and the other as a fan of his writing. These allegations were first brought to light in Tortoise Media’s podcast series, Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman, released on Wednesday. The series explores the women’s accounts of rough and degrading sexual encounters with Gaiman, which they claim were not always consensual.
Scarlett, now 23, alleges that Gaiman sexually assaulted her within hours of their first meeting in February 2022 at his New Zealand residence, where she was employed as a nanny. According to the podcast, Gaiman asserts that their interactions were limited to “cuddling” and “making out” in the bath, with consent established for these acts. His position is that their three-week relationship only included consensual digital penetration.
However, Scarlett claims that Gaiman engaged in rough and degrading sexual acts that were not consensual.
The second woman, identified as K, was 18 when she met Gaiman at a book signing in Sarasota, Florida, in 2003. They began a romantic relationship when she turned 20, while Gaiman was in his mid-40s. K alleges that she endured rough and painful sex that she “neither wanted nor enjoyed,” including an incident where Gaiman allegedly penetrated her despite her expressing discomfort due to a painful infection.
Neil Gaiman attributes one of the alleged victim’s claims to false memories despite no medical records to support his argument.
Gaiman denies any unlawful behavior with K, expressing his disturbance over her allegations and believes that K’s allegations stem from regret over their relationship while also suggesting that Scarlett’s claims are influenced by a condition related to false memories, a claim not supported by her medical records.
Neil Gaiman’s books have been adapted into Films and TV Shows such as American Gods on Amazon Prime and Sandman on Netflix, and his characters were most recently seen in Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix, a show where he also served as an EP.
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Source: Tortoise Media.