Multiple Women Accuse Feminist Comic Book Author Neil Gaiman of Sexual Misconduct, Including Babysitter

A media firestorm has descended on comic book author Neil Gaiman, with new allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct from fans and former sexual partners.

The most damning allegations come from an article published yesterday (Jan 14) on the Vulture by Lila Shapiro, titled, "How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades."

The story details the relationship between Neil Gaiman and his ex-wife Amanda Palmer, how they met, how they opened the relationship and centers around their former babysitter, Scarlett Pavlovich.

Basically, Scarlett Pavlovich claims that she was sexually assaulted by Gaiman in New Zealand while working as a babysitter for both Palmer and Gaiman. She filed a police report in January 2023.

The journalist, Lila Shapiro, interviews a number of Gaiman's former sexual partners, who describe encounters that they believe were sexually uncomfortable. Though, they don't suggest the encounters being non-consensual.

One fan named Katherine Kendall alleges Gaiman kissed her on his tour bus, she didn't want to kiss him. Years later, he sent her $60,000 for therapy.

Another fan, Kendra Stout, says that Gaiman had sex with her when she had a UTI, according to her, she made it clear that the UTI was painful and so didn't want sex. The two seem to have been in a relationship at the time.

There was also a woman who lived on Gaiman's property that he had an affair with. She was going through a divorce, and Gaiman allegedly made advances on her while his wife was out of town. The two had a series of sexual encounters. But this woman claims that she felt inclined to engage sexually with Gaiman because he owned the property, and she was poor.

After a falling out, Gaiman pays the woman $300,000 to sign an NDA and leave his property.

The most damning claims come from Scarlett Pavlovich, the babysitter. She implies that he had sex with her in a bathtub without her consent and that he rapes her in a BDSM way in his kitchen (also implying that she didn't consent).

Gaiman and Pavlovich have this ongoing sexual relationship while she is working as his babysitter. Eventually, Pavlovich tells Amanda Palmer about the relationship and how it wasn't (according to her) entirely consensual.

Amanda Palmer is not surprised, and says that, "Fourteen women have come to me about this." Fourteen women have suggested that Gaiman was acting in some inappropriate way, but Palmer did nothing?

The problem with Scarlett Pavlovich's story is that she said that the encounters were consensual before changing her story. In a text to Gaiman clarifying their relationship, she wrote, “It was consensual (and wonderful)!”

Pavlovich also speaks with Gaiman's therapist and repeats to the therapist that their relationship was consensual and clarifies there was no rape.

Later, when Pavlovich is struggling with suicidal thoughts and struggling to make ends meet, she reaches out to Palmer, who doesn't help her, so she turns to Gaiman. Gaiman asks her to sign an NDA and then pays her $1,700 and then $82,000.

This whole story looks bad for everyone. The alleged victim repeatedly said that it was consensual, but then changed her mind. The ex-wife, Amanda Palmer, who's this international feminist, knows that all of this is going but does nothing. In some ways, she even encourages the behavior by introducing the women to Gaiman.

Gaiman’s perspective on these relationships, including with Pavlovich, is that they were entirely consensual.

There are too many narratives wrapped up in this story to separate fact from fiction. Even the author of the article seems to have an agenda. For example, why is the author constantly mentioning the age-gap between the women and Gaiman?

Also, the retelling of what Gaiman did and said sounds edited. That's not to say that none of this happened, just that the quotes sound like they are out of a movie.

Here's an example: “‘I’m a very wealthy man,’” she remembers him saying, “‘and I’m used to getting what I want.’”

And another one: “‘I like our trade,’” she remembers him saying. “‘You take care of me, and I’ll take care of you.’”

And then there's a line in the article that cleverly inserts a television series Gaiman is most famous for. "He ordered her to suck him off while he watched screeners for the first season of The Sandman."

The article mentions The Sandman multiple times and how there's a new season being released this year – it feels like the author really wants this season to be pulled or cancelled, they way it keeps being brought up.

Another interesting point to consider is that Palmer and Gaiman are currently going through a messy divorce and battling for custody of their son. Representatives from Gaiman allege that Palmer was a “major force” driving this story in light of their contentious divorce.

There might be some truth to that claim. For example, throughout this story, there is a narrative that Gaiman has repeatedly had sexual encounters in the presence of his son. Gaiman denies these claims.

It's plausible that the allegation of sexual misconduct in the presence of a child would not bode well for Gaiman in divorce court. That's a common narrative pushed by custody lawyers. Whether it's true or not, it's something clearly being pushed in this story.

This is a very strange story indeed. The internet, though, has made up its mind.

Even JK Rowling and Elon Musk have weighed in on the allegations. Rowling wrote on 𝕏, "The literary crowd that had a hell of a lot to say about Harvey Weinstein before he was convicted has been strangely muted in its response to multiple accusations against Neil Gaiman."

Musk simply commented on the post, "Their silence is deafening."

Some people condemned Gaiman but also suggested the article went too far, including unnecessary details and images of the victims.

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