A writer in turmoil –
Neil Gaiman accused of rape and sexual assault
The author of “Sandman” and “American Gods” is the target of the testimony of eight women. He denies it outright.
Neil Gaiman on January 6, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File/Keystone
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British writer Neil Gaiman, a world-famous science fiction writer, has rejected accusations of rape and sexual assault against him, claiming to have “never had non-consensual sexual relations”.
New York Magazine published an investigation Monday with the testimony of eight women accusing the author of “Sandman” and “American Gods” of rape and sexual assault. Four of them had already spoken in a series of podcasts from the British media Tortoise broadcast in July.
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Young and admiring victims
The women who testified were around twenty years old at the time of the events, and for the most part admirers of the 64-year-old successful writer.
The latter rejects the accusations: “I am far from being a perfect person, but I have never had non-consensual sexual relations. Never,” he wrote on his blog on Tuesday.
Surprises or constraints
The women who accuse him denounce non-consensual sexual relations, obtained by surprise or coercion, as well as degrading and sadomasochistic practices.
One of them, Scarlett Pavlovich, was 22 when she met the writer, while he was living in New Zealand, to become his son’s babysitter. She says that he then suggested that she take advantage of a bathtub installed in the garden before joining her and raping her. Scarlett Pavlovich, however, remained in contact with the author. She also signed a confidentiality agreement, in exchange for nearly $9,200.
Other women recount similar facts, some claiming to have received money from the author, in particular to pay for psychotherapy sessions.
Adaptations in danger
“As I read this latest collection of stories, there are moments I half recognize and others I don’t, descriptions of things that happened and things that definitely didn’t happen,” declared the writer on his blog.
In the wake of the first revelations of summer 2024, Disney announced that it had interrupted production of its film adaptation of “The Strange Life of Nobody Owens”. Prime Video, the Amazon platform, for its part announced at the end of October that the “Good Omens” series would end with a third season, reduced to a single ninety-minute episode.
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