TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains mentions of sexual assault.
Multiple women have accused British author Neil Gaiman of sexual assault in a New York Magazine cover story, months after initial allegations emerged against him.
This is the first time a major news organisation confirmed the full extent of the reporting after Tortoise Media, in a six-part podcast titled Master, broke the news that Gaiman was accused of sexual assault. In the podcast, several women used only their first names or pseudonyms to protect themselves, however, they revealed their identities for the New York Magazine story, Variety reported.
In the piece, “There Is No Safe Word: How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades”, eight women who had similar experiences with Gaiman were interviewed, four of whom also participated in the podcast.
Scarlett Pavlovich, one of the women who came forth with accusations of assault, met Gaiman’s ex-wife American singer Amanda Palmer in New Zealand and soon agreed to babysit the couple’s five-year-old child. According to Pavlovich, the Coraline author encouraged her to have a bath in a bathtub in his garden when they first met and shortly after joined her in the tub without her consent and sexually assaulted her.
After the incident, Palmer asked if Pavlovich could live with her as a babysitter for the foreseeable future and Pavlovich agreed because “she was broke and hadn’t been able to find a new apartment. She’d been homeless at the start of the pandemic” and did not consider reaching out to her family because of past abuse.
Pavlovich told New York Magazine that the assault continued while she babysat Gaiman’s son, including instances where he forced himself upon her in the presence of the child. In one such incident in a hotel room, the author was speaking to his son while engaging in the act, while Pavlovich was in a “state of shock”.
According to Variety, Gaiman denied all allegations against him since the podcast came out, and claimed that all relations were consensual. In a statement in response to Pavlovich’s allegation about the hotel room incident, his representatives called it “false, not to mention deplorable.”
The article stated that all of the women who came forward against the author at some point played along by calling him “master”, however, specific BDSM (bondage, domination, sadism, masochism) activities were not discussed or agreed upon before the occurred, which the publication highlighted was key in relationships of that nature.
Pavlovich claimed that a week into her time with the family, their son began to “address her as ‘slave’ and ordered Pavlovich to call him ‘master’”, and Gaiman “seemed to find it amusing”.
She remained in contact with Gaiman and, through text messages, reassured him once that their interactions had been consensual. Eventually, Pavlovich signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and was paid $9,200 in nine separate payments for her babysitting services.
Pavlovich filed a police report accusing the author of assault in January 2023, however, a police spokesperson told the publication that the matter was “closed”.
Another accuser, Caroline, also signed an NDA with Gaiman. She worked as a caretaker and babysitter on Gaiman’s property in New York and the two started an intimate relationship after Caroline’s husband left her in 2017.
Caroline also narrated an incident where Gaiman attempted to initiate sexual contact while his son was sleeping between him and Caroline. She said she jumped out of bed, adding, “He didn’t have boundaries. I remember thinking that there was something really wrong with him.”
She alleged that in December 2021, the author’s business manager offered her $5,000 to sign an NDA and move off the property, however, she asked for $300,000 and Gaiman agreed. His representatives told New York Magazine that Caroline initiated the encounters and denied “that he engaged in any sexual activity with her in the presence of his son.”
Kendra Stout, another woman who claimed Gaiman assaulted her, was 18 years old when she first met him at a book signing and their relationship turned physical three years later. She alleged that Gaiman raped her in 2007 after she explicitly told him she did not want to engage in the act due to a urinary tract infection. The publication detailed that she filed a police report in October.
New York Magazine also interviewed Kathrine Kendall who claimed that Gaiman attempted to assault her on his tour bus after she said she did not want to partake in sexual activity with him. According to the article, the author gave her $60,000 for therapy years later to, as he put it, “make up some of the damage”.
Many of Gaiman’s film and television projects were disrupted because of the allegations. Season three of Good Omens will end with one 90-minute episode and Gaiman will not be part of the production team, Variety reported. Additionally, Disney halted its film adaptation of The Graveyard Book, while Netflix cancelled Dead Boy Detectives, however, it was not specified if their actions were because of the allegations against the author.
On the other hand, Netflix’s The Sandman will premiere this year on the streaming platform, as will Prime Video’s Anansi Boys, Variety stated.
