At least eight women have reported sexual assaults allegedly committed by Neil Gaiman, the popular British author of fantasy literature and graphic novels, whose film and television adaptations of some of his works are now in jeopardy due to scandals in his personal life.
Neil Gaiman has been accused by at least two former nannies of coercing them into non-consensual sadomasochistic practices and anal sex. Another accuser accused him of rape, despite acknowledging that she had a romantic relationship with him. Through his representatives, the author has defended his innocence by claiming that the acts were consensual, even though he forced some of the women to sign confidentiality agreements.
Neil Gaiman, 64, was born in Portchester (UK) but has lived most of his life in the United States and New Zealand. He had three children with his first wife, Mary T. McGrath, and in 2015, his fourth child was born from his second marriage to singer Amanda Palmer, who announced their breakup in 2020 saying: "Neil has moved to England, he broke my heart, and I'm not doing well."
The first accuser, Scarlett Pavlovich, was a friend of Amanda Palmer and worked as a nanny for her son Anthony when the family lived in New Zealand. Pavlovich, who was 22 at the time, signed a confidentiality agreement with Gaiman (after receiving $9,200) but decided to press charges against him in January 2023.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Pavlovich stated that the sexual abuse began one day when Gaiman offered her to use the hot tub in the garden of his house, then appeared naked, got into the water, and asked her to sit on his lap.
"He directly put his fingers in my butt and tried to anally penetrate me," Pavlovich recounted. "I said 'no, no,' and then he put his penis between my breasts, I told him no again, and then he asked if he could ejaculate on my face, which he did despite me continuing to refuse. 'Call me master,' he said. 'Be a good girl'."
Pavlovich claimed that Gaiman attempted to abuse her on multiple occasions, using butter as lubricant for anal sex, calling her "slave," and asking her, against her will, to clean him with her tongue after the act. "'Is your master challenging you?' he even said."
The British portal Tortoise reproduced some of the most gruesome details in a podcast titled Master. A spokesperson for Gaiman defended him, stating that "sexual degradation and sadomasochistic practices may not be to everyone's taste, but they are perfectly legal between two consenting adults."
Another accuser, Kendra Stout, claimed to have met Gaiman at a book signing in Florida and said that their friendly relationship turned physical and romantic three years later but deteriorated into "raw and painful" activities she did not desire. During a countryside getaway in Britain in 2007, she reported the author for "rape" at the local police station. Katherine Kendall, who was 22 when she met Gaiman in 2012, stated that she was sexually assaulted while traveling with him on a bus tour. Later, she received a payment of $60,000 for "therapy" and to "compensate for the damages caused".
Another woman, identified simply as Caroline, also worked as a nanny in 2017 when the author lived in Woodstock. Caroline claimed that on one occasion, while she had fallen asleep reading stories to the child, Gaiman lay down next to them and placed the nanny's hand on his penis. A spokesperson for the author claimed that it was Caroline who initiated the encounters and that he would never engage in "sexual activities" in front of his son. The woman stated that Gaiman offered her $5,000 to sign a confidentiality agreement, but she requested $300,000, to which he eventually agreed.