Never engaged in non-consensual sex: Author Neil Gaiman on rape claims

British fantasy author Neil Gaiman has dismissed sexual assault allegations levelled against him by eight women, including a former babysitter who claimed that he raped her multiple times. In a statement, the best-selling author said that he "never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever".

The allegations against the 64-year-old author of “The Sandman” comic book series and novel “American Gods” came to light after an article in the New York Magazine detailed the allegations of sexual assault, abuse and coercion.

In July 2024, a podcast series by Tortoise Media titled “Master”, featured accounts from two of the eight women and since then, the allegations have continued to increase. Several TV adaptations of his work, including "The Graveyard Book", "The Sandman", and the third season of "Good Omens", have been cancelled or curtailed.

BREAKING THE SILENCE

In a statement, titled "Breaking the Silence" posted on his website on Tuesday, Gaiman said that he has "watched the stories circulating the internet about me with horror and dismay" in the past few months.

"I’ve stayed quiet until now, both 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... I've now reached the point where I feel that I should say something," he said.

The author said that he read messages that he exchanged at the time when he was in a relationship with the accusers.

"These messages read now as they did when I received them, of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again. At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides," he claimed.

Gaiman, however, acknowledged that he was "obviously careless with people's hearts and feelings, and that's something that I really, deeply regret. It was selfish of me".

"I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been... I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other people's."

He went on to say that as he "reflects 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".

"I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone... Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while 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," Gaiman stressed.

WHAT ARE THE ALLEGATIONS

Most of the allegations against Gaiman go back to the time when the author was in his 40s and was living in the US, UK and New Zealand.

Scarlett Pavlovich, who worked as a babysitter for Gaiman and his former wife Amanda Palmer, told the New York Magazine that Gaiman raped her multiple times, starting from the night they met in 2022.

At the time of this, the couple lived with their son, who was five-year-old at the time, in New Zealand.

Pavlovich alleged that Gaiman forced her to indulge in sexual activities despite her objections. One incident, which she says left her in "a state of shock", was when he raped her in front of his son in a hotel room.

Another woman, Kendra Stout said that when she started dating Gaiman in 2003, he detailed the "dominant and submissive relationship" that he wanted with her. However, he forced her to have non-consensual sex, which was at times "torturous", according to Stout.

A third woman, Katherine Kendall said Gaiman forced himself while they were travelling together in a tour bus in 2012.