Crime Neil Gaiman Accused of Sexual Assault, Author Denies Allegations

Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault, making him the subject of a police complaint in New Zealand. Gaiman has offered a response as well, refuting the accusations.

Per Tortoise Media, two women have accused Gaiman of sexual assault while in consensual relationships with the author. The allegations go back two decades, but they were first reported on in Tortoise's podcast Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman, which was released on Wednesday. The women describe allegations of "rough and degrading sex," alleging that these instances were not always consensual.

One of the two accusers, a 23-year-old woman named Scarlett, claims she was sexually assaulted in February 2022 just hours after first meeting Gaiman. According to Scarlett, the assault happened in a bath at Gaiman's New Zealand home where she was hired to work as a nanny for his child. Gaiman says that the two merely "cuddled" and "made out" that day, adding that a three-week sexual relationship ensued, but was entirely consensual. Scarlett insists that Gaiman was "rough and degrading," and reportedly, messages, notes, and accounts from friends support her allegations.

Another accuser, identifying herself as K, says she was an 18-year-old fan when she first met Gaiman at a book signing in Sarasota, Florida, in 2003. K claims that she began a romantic relationship with Gaiman after she turned 20, resulting in engaging in rough sex that she "neither wanted nor enjoyed." It's alleged that one particular incident saw Gaimain forcefully penetrating K despite her objections.

Gaiman has denied this claim as well. The Sandman author maintains that his relationship with K was never unlawful and that he's "disturbed" to be accused of such behavior. According to Gaiman, K's allegations stem from "regret" over the relationship she had when it was over. He also attributed Scarlett's allegations to a condition she has that's associated with false memories, but the Tortoise report noted that this isn't supported by the accuser's medical records.

Additionally, Gaiman has strongly denied all allegations of non-consensual sex at any time with the women accusing him of sexual assault. He also claimed that New Zealand police ignored his offer for assistance with one woman's complaint in 2022, suggesting that shows a lack of substance in the investigation. New Zealand officers have responded by saying they made a "number of attempts to speak to key people as part of this investigation and those efforts remain ongoing." It was added that there are "a number of factors to take into consideration with this case, including location of all parties.”

Gaiman has long been one of pop culture's most revered authors, bringing to life acclaimed stories like The Sandman, Good Omens, and American Gods. Just recently, Netflix has been promoting the upcoming second season of The Sandman, which is based on Gaiman's source material; he also executive produces the series.

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Honestly while Gaiman was not on the top of my "insufferable and terminally overhyped geek culture retards I cant wait to get outed as sex predators for my own amusement" list (currently being topped by Wil Wheaton followed by Alan Moore) I cannot deny feeling that little bit jollier with the thought I may never have to hear him mentioned again

 

[The Potatomatic 2000]

Well, how the turns have tabled, Neil.

Then again, I kind of realised he is a retarded libshit when he went to New Zealand with Amanda "looks like she smells" Palmer to live there for Covid, then they had a fallout and he travelled AAAAAAALL the way to Scotland to have some spaaaaace. Meanwhile him and his kind literally made it so nobody could be with my grandpa at the hospital while he died after a stroke (he was unconscious, but fuck). My sister and the vet literally commando'd out to the ranch while her horse was giving birth. A family friend could get proper cancer treatment only because her son was a dentist.

Call me MATI, but normal human beings with normal lives were being forced into retarded situations, I remember quickly hiding I was eating a banana on an empty street when a police car drove by, because they fined unmasked people. Yet Neil Gaiman could just travel like thousands of miles because he needed space. He didn't rent another place. He had to leave to another landmass.

After that, ruin his life for bullshit. Cancel him as a rapist. I will shrug and ignore.

 

[Overly Serious]

Coraline didn't do it for you?

I read the book and didn't like it. Saw the movie and not only didn't like it, but the marionette looked very much like an ex of mine. (

 

[Falcos_Commisar]

Every "male feminist" is a covert predator. I'm surprised nobody's said anything about GRRM yet.

GRRM is probably too fat and old to actually sexually assault anyone.

However Harry Knowles (remember him) was able to assault and he was 350+ lbs ..

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

I read the book and didn't like it. Saw the movie and not only didn't like it, but the marionette looked very much like an ex of mine. (

Justifiable reasoning. I found the book only average but the hard work done with the film was impressive so I enjoy it.

 

[OrangeJuliusEvola]

Is there a particular time in which Gaiman's work became insipid woke shit? Only read some of his comics from the '80s and '90s and it seemed... fine? Not really anything that was in line with the political correctness of the day.

It's more like he needs collaborators in order to reign in the bad tendencies in his writing. Someone like him should have stuck to comics and movie scripts, as he tends to over write descriptive detail and fall into certain a series of tropes with his characters. He's good at general concept, plotting and dialogue, but overloads the narrative with extraneous crap that slows everything down and is often cloyingly twee, purple and filled with "aren't I so smart" affectations.

 

[Overly Serious]

Justifiable reasoning. I found the book only average but the hard work done with the film was impressive so I enjoy it.

I'll be fair, the artistry in the film was impressive. But you can also watch Paranorman or Kubo and the Two Strings and see even better puppetry and have a more touching story, too.

I really feel with Neil Gaiman that deep down he doesn't actually feel the things the myths are about. It's like looking at a flower that has been assembled rather than grown.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

really feel with Neil Gaiman that deep down he doesn't actually feel the things the myths are about. It's like looking at a flower that has been assembled rather than grown.

Quite possibly. I like the book Good Omens but when I read it most of the stuff feels like Pratchett writing with some of the ideas being Neil's. Given how many of his own books leave me a bit flat it's possible that's what happened.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

I really feel with Neil Gaiman that deep down he doesn't actually feel the things the myths are about. It's like looking at a flower that has been assembled rather than grown.

Gaimans writing is utterly, and terminally irony poisoned, and tries to be entirely too 'quirky'. Because he definitely does not care about the things he twists into his writing. I think he probably holds them in active contempt actually. All of his commentary on religion is very surface level 'twitter liberal', his characters are about as deep as a puddle, and his dialogue is like if Tarantino was an effete homosexual from London. There is nothing from Gaiman I have ever enjoyed except Stardust; and even then, all the parts which he intended to be quirky or 'funny' were bad.

 

[Merton J. Dingle]

It's more like he needs collaborators in order to reign in the bad tendencies in his writing. Someone like him should have stuck to comics and movie scripts, as he tends to over write descriptive detail and fall into certain a series of tropes with his characters. He's good at general concept, plotting and dialogue, but overloads the narrative with extraneous crap that slows everything down and is often cloyingly twee, purple and filled with "aren't I so smart" affectations.

That sounds a lot like a lot of popular fiction writers who write these door stopper novels. I've really enjoyed Clive Barker's works, but his massive overwrought novels from the 90s are vastly inferior to his shorter works because he can't (or won't) edit himself. Shame too because there are some really cool moments in them.

 

[Overly Serious]

Quite possibly. I like the book Good Omens but when I read it most of the stuff feels like Pratchett writing with some of the ideas being Neil's. Given how many of his own books leave me a bit flat it's possible that's what happened.

Gaiman is structure and scaffolding. He can write, he can do structure competently, etc. But I feel very strongly that he's like someone building outward from the appearance. He does it to such a degree that I think many people don't notice there's something not there. He's like a Chinese Room applied to faerie tales and myth. Or like someone doing a careful copy of a famous painting.

Good Omens worked because Terry Pratchett had so much harm. Gaiman helped build the house but Pratchett made it a home.

Gaimans writing is utterly, and terminally irony poisoned, and tries to be entirely too 'quirky'. Because he definitely does not care about the things he twists into his writing. I think he probably holds them in active contempt actually. All of his commentary on religion is very surface level 'twitter liberal', his characters are about as deep as a puddle, and his dialogue is like if Tarantino was an effete homosexual from London. There is nothing from Gaiman I have ever enjoyed except Stardust; and even then, all the parts which he intended to be quirky or 'funny' were bad.

Yes. This. He doesn't actually respect or cherish the things he writes about. You can't write authentically about something you don't believe in, are distanced from.

 

[Dr J]

Only thing of Gaiman's I've actually read is that issue of Spawn he did that caused all the trouble. Ironically it was one of the better issues of Spawn

 

[Billy Idol]

Has anyone listened to the podcast episodes yet?

 

[NoReturn]

A lot of his stories are more philosophical mind mush.

I believe his father is a high, high ranking Scientologist, but he's not.

I recall he escaped the cult and pretty much cut ties with it, but if he fell back in later (or if I'm all the way wrong), I don't know.,

His work is like a late-stage religion that contains the symbolism or motifs of its earlier stage but no longer has the animating spirituality. Like the shell of some sea creature that remains after the creature itself is gone.

All of his commentary on religion is very surface level 'twitter liberal', his characters are about as deep as a puddle

He's like a Chinese Room applied to faerie tales and myth. Or like someone doing a careful copy of a famous painting.

I think, despite him not being one himself, the Scientology piece of Gaiman's life is often overlooked.
It's common in ex-Christians for them to have certain behaviors that stay "Christian"; asking-the-fish-to-see-the-water type stuff where they themselves don't even seen to understand what they're doing comes from Christianity. They think they've dropped the religion, but they haven't dropped the religious behavior.
e.g. The whole idea of gender identity is very similar to the soul-body dualism of many religions, so when I see ex-Christians vigorously endorsing certain lines of thought, they're just following a pattern of what they were raised to "know" about the world.

So let us consider Scientology. What are some Scientological tenants?

• "You" are a thetan that occupies a physical body
• The first time your soul was ever incarnated you were likely a clam (the natural state of being is self-protection)
• The thetan is the only "real" thing. Your body is not you. Your body's illnesses and suffering are within the body and can be overcome, if you are angry, or upset, even at your parents, you should be able to overcome it.
• Any action or relationship is a two way street, even if you are a child who has been hit by your parent, you need to understand your parent was stressed/suffering and that is why they lashed out. You are responsible for your own reaction to your parent's action.

The most important one for his writing, however, I think, is the "tone scale", which I'll just steal from Wikipedia:

The tone scale is a key construct throughout Scientology and is used to gauge someone's value in society or determine how best to control or communicate with someone. Hubbard introduced the tone scale with his 1951 book Science of Survival and expanded it since then. The concept is a vertical scale of points from −40.0 to +40.0, each representing an emotion or other mental concept. The midpoint is 0.0, labelled "body death". From 0.0 upward is the emotional tone scale, where points such as apathy, grief, fear, anger, boredom, contentment, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and serenity of beingness at the top are labeled. Points below 0.0 are mental concepts rather than emotions, such as shame, blame, regret, sacrifice, hiding, and total failure. In common Scientology parlance, a person high on the tone scale is called uptone or high toned, and one low on the tone scale is called downtone or low toned.[47][30]: 73–4 [48]: 253, 443, 484–5 [49]: 526–527 ​

​

According to Hubbard, one's tone affects a person's attitude, their ability to relate with others, and even body odors. The higher on the scale, the more emotionally alive someone would be. Lower tones, Hubbard asserted, should be exiled from society.[50]: 48–49  During the auditing process, the auditor is trained to observe the client's emotional state using the tone scale, to raise an individual on the tone scale and improve his abilities.[51]: 109–11 [52]​

It genuinely makes me wonder what the backstory is for Ocean at the End of the Lane given he told Palmer it was autobiographical.

 

[Haramburger]

OoOoOoO, fairies but... in a bri'ish subway tube! OoOoOoO, crossing this minor obstacle in the real world leads to... another world! OoOoOoO, major mythological figures... do minimum wage work undercover!

If he didn't rape those girls, at the very least he raped those bookshelves.

 

[Chunky Salsa]

OoOoOoO, fairies but... in a bri'ish subway tube! OoOoOoO, crossing this minor obstacle in the real world leads to... another world! OoOoOoO, major mythological figures... do minimum wage work undercover!

If he didn't rape those girls, at the very least he raped those bookshelves.

THIS! This is what my autistic fucking brain is telling me. It's to trite and dull and gay and boring and droll and every other word for 'smug faggot that thinks his ideas are clever when they're FUCKING STOOPID!' That's all Gaiman writes. Shitty 19 year old teenager ideas for stories. Nigger cattle slurp it up though.

"Jesus has lots of different versions, aren't I clever?!?!" No Gaiman you fucking hack, because no one else has different versions despite being as equally spread out over various cultures. You just have this twitter libshit faggot need to bash christianity and it's BOOOOORRRIIIIINNNGGG!

 

[ShitLurker]

Karmik justice for turning Death into a nigger.

 

[Dr. Butt]

But this is Death now.

She's not even hot. That's fucked up.

 

[Dr J]

But this is Death now.

Are you fiddin' to say We Wuz Death n' shieet mah nigguh?

 

[Dr. Butt]

yeah that's really what gets me, in theory "I hate what they did with my stuff" is reasonable, but dude made his career out of "look what I did with their stuff"

So is he a pedo or not? It's just that he really, really looks like one, in all photographs of him at all ages. I don't trust that constant-rage-autistic-mallgoth personality type at all.

 

[dick brain]

Your scope of "rape" isn't wide enough. "Male feminist" style rape/assault isn't holding down a woman and forcing yourself on her, it's waiting until she's drunk and asleep, or targeting an impressionable teenager and verbally coercing her and threatening suicide until she reluctantly gives in.

No. Equating coercion to rape cheapens how fucked up and traumatizing actual rape is. There is a world of difference between saying yes when you wish you hadn't versus being beaten, held down and forcibly penetrated while screaming no. Pick another word.

Anyway, if you champion and court the type of "men" tumblr champions like Gaiman and Loki and Hannibal and whoever else -- "men" whose primary character trait is manipulating narratives, distorting the truth and coercing people, you shouldn't be surprised when that's exactly what you get. Conversely, if you're that type of "man", courting the type of women who champion that type of behavior, you shouldn't be surprised when they turn out to be liars themselves. It's one big pit of snakes.