Rumors about English author Neil Gaiman’s behavior towards women have been circulating in the publishing world for some time, but an explosive article published in new York The magazine this week featured a horrific series of allegations that left readers sickened and stunned. Several women interviewed for the piece accused him of rape, assault, sexual abuse and degradation, and one woman who worked as a nanny for Gaiman and his ex-wife, musician Amanda Palmer, claimed he had pushed her to commit sexual acts, sometimes even. in the presence of his young son.
Gaiman, who was also the subject of a 2024 podcast that examined such accounts of sexual abuse, denied the allegations, writing in a statement: “I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone whatever. Never.” He added that some of the incidents described in the article were “distorted,” while others, he said, had simply never happened. But for millions of fans, it It will be impossible to see Gaiman the way they once did, and it may be hardest for people who have expressed their admiration in the indelible form of a tattoo.
As a reader with a tattoo inspired by Gaiman’s dark fantasy novel Coraline put it on I got this tattoo months and months before his allegations and as a lesbian victim of sexual assault, having something he created on me makes me sick. why are people so mean??? The post includes a photo of the large ink work, which covers their entire forearm. In a 2023 post on the platform, another fan, showing off an arm tattoo of a character from Gaiman’s comic strip The Sandmanwrote: “The first thing I did when I received it was send a message to my friend ‘Neil Gaiman better never turn out to be a bad guy’ lol” – as if predicting the very consequences that the writer’s most devoted readers now face.
One tattoo artist, meanwhile, wrote on This feels like a good reminder that ANY fandom tattoo you get runs the risk of being ruined by creators doing heinous things, even if you think “it could never be them.” (Indeed, the allegations against Gaiman were devastating to his community in part because of the perceived feminist themes in his books.)
“Tattooing has always had a fandom aspect,” says Thomas O’Mahony, co-host of the London-based podcast. Under the skinwhich explores history through the art of tattoos, alongside Dr Matt Lodder, a lecturer at the University of Essex who specializes in this area. O’Mahony mentions how 17th century pilgrims had tattoos of “the Coptic cross of Jerusalem, as proof of pilgrimage, and what is the greatest fandom if not that of Jesus?” Pop culture has always been well represented in the tattoo world. In the 1920s, O’Mahony says, artists “were inspired by designs from Disney cartoons, like Steamboat Willie, the very first cartoons. Tattooing is largely driven by what consumers want.
But Gaiman is one of those characters who seems particularly amenable to tattoo culture, O’Mahony says. “I think there is a certain level of parasociality that has been engendered by his work,” he says. “For example, if you look at mainstream authors, no one really gets Stephen King tattoos. They may get tattoos of the works he created, but there is a primacy of the author in Gaiman’s works – he is so present in them. O’Mahony thinks that Gaiman, as a successful and highly recognizable author, might be more comparable to a rock star (and musicians have certainly inspired many regrettable tattoos in their turn). A more literary precedent for Gaiman’s situation might be that of JK Rowling, whose relentless transphobia in recent years has led countless fans to remove or conceal their once significant identities. Harry Potter tattoos.
“There is a deep sense of betrayal,” O’Mahony says, when a public figure’s actions seem to demolish the values we associate with them. “The feeling of waking up, seeing this (article), and then having to look at a body part that is permanently marked – a reminder of this betrayal – is both deeply upsetting and deeply disturbing. I can see many people concealing or removing these items through the laser removal process. He notes that many turn to tattooing as “a form of self-realization, marking healing from trauma or overcoming difficult times in their lives.” Which means those with Gaiman-inspired tattoos will find that the heartbreaking details of new York the piece directly and painfully contradicts the reasons she was tattooed in the first place.
Even so, O’Mahony says, and despite the supposed atmosphere of “cancel culture,” such cover-ups are not a significant part of the tattoo industry. They can be extremely difficult from a technical standpoint, and it is more common for individuals to attempt to modify an outdated or poorly made part. Tattoo regret in general is “exaggerated,” he believes, but he acknowledges the “age-old saying” among tattoo artists about a familiar curse: “As soon as you tattoo someone’s name on someone another, it will inevitably separate,” O’Mahony explains. “So the best solution after tattooing someone’s name is to cover it up.” Unfortunately, a few unwanted letters are easier to deal with than a larger or elaborate illustration, especially if it was done in dark ink.
In some cases, fans will just have to tell themselves a different story about the art on their bodies. “No kidding, I have a pretty big tattoo from a page of Sandman and before I made sure I wanted it, I thought “well, Gaiman will probably be fine…but just in case I pick something that isn’t clearly a Gaiman thing,” one disappointed person wrote on is that I’m a really big fan of Edgar Allan Poe.” Previously, after the 2024 Podcast covered some of the allegations against Gaiman, a number of editors discussed the tattoo issue, with some deciding that Gaiman’s lines that they chose to write on their skin were important enough that it didn’t matter who wrote them.
None of this will stop tattoo enthusiasts from continuing to request designs explicitly tied to fallible artists and celebrities, O’Mahony says. “You look at a lot of beloved public figures in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the vast majority of them did reprehensible things,” he points out. “People are not (necessarily) attached to the person. They are attached to the idea that the person represents. Perhaps one could say that even as Gaiman sees his TV and film adaptation contracts canceled and bookstores mull over the idea of removing his titles from shelves, the fans most passionate about his fantasy worlds cannot. erased from existence in the near future. in the same way. After all, he changed their lives – and the proof is there for everyone to see.
