‘Sandman’ author accused of sexual assault

Several women have accused “The Sandman” and “Coraline” author Neil Gaiman of sexual assault in a New York Magazine cover story, speaking on the record about their experiences.

In July, Tortoise Media announced that Gaiman had been accused of sexual assault by two women and released a six-part podcast, “Master,” which covered allegations from five women. However, several of these women had only used their first names or pseudonyms to protect their identities, and a major media outlet had yet to fully corroborate these reports – until now.

In the New York Magazine article, titled “There Is No Safe Word,” journalist Lila Shapiro spoke with eight women who had similar experiences with Gaiman, four of whom also appeared on Tortoise’s podcast. One of those women, Scarlett Pavlovich, was 22 when she first met Gaiman’s ex-wife, Amanda Palmer, in New Zealand. They struck up a friendship before Palmer asked Pavlovich to help babysit her and Gaiman’s 5-year-old child. Pavlovich said the first time she met Gaiman, while waiting for the child to finish a playdate, he suggested she take a bath in a clawfoot tub in his backyard. She alleges he then joined her naked in the bathtub, asked her to sit on his lap and sexually assaulted her.

“He put his fingers directly in my ass and tried to put his penis in my ass. And I said, “No, no. » Then he tried to rub his penis between my breasts, and I also said “no”. Then he asked me if he could come on my face, and I said ‘no’ but he did it anyway,” Pavlovich told New York Mag. “He said, ‘Call- me ‘master’ and I will come.’ He said, ‘Be a good girl.’

Pavlovich claims this continued for the rest of the time she babysat for the family, including one instance where he allegedly attempted to have anal sex with her using butter as lubricant.

“When it was over, he called him ‘slave’ and ordered him to ‘clean it,'” the article reported. “She protested that it was unhygienic. “He said: ‘Do you challenge your master?’ » she remembers. “I had to lick my own shit.”

Gaiman’s representatives told the Tortoise podcast that “sexual degradation, bondage, domination, sadism and masochism may not be to everyone’s taste, but between consenting adults, BDSM is legal.” Although the New York Magazine article states that all of the accusers had played along at some point by calling him “master” as he wished and continuing to communicate with him, the women claim that consent and activities BDSM specifics had not been discussed and agreed upon. before they happen.

At another point, Gaiman was staying with his son at a hotel in Auckland and asked Pavlovich to watch the child while he had a massage. She alleges he then had sex with her while her son was in the room and continued to talk to her during the act. Pavlovich says she asked Gaiman, “What the hell are you doing?” and was in “shock” during the incident.

Gaiman has vigorously denied all allegations made against him since the release of the Tortoise podcast, saying all relationships were consensual. In a statement responding to Pavlovich’s allegations regarding the hotel room incident, his representatives called it “false, not to mention deplorable.” Representatives for Gaiman did not immediately respond. Varietyrequesting additional comments on the New York Magazine article.

However, Pavlovich remained in contact with Gaiman after this point, even reassuring him at one point that their interactions were consensual. Eventually, she agreed to sign an NDA and received, according to NY Mag, a total of $9,200 in nine separate payments. In January 2023, she filed a police report accusing him of sexual assault, but “the case is now closed,” a police spokesperson told NY Mag.

Caroline, who chose to be identified only by her first name, also signed an NDA after her experience with Gaiman. She worked as a caretaker and sometimes babysitter at Gaiman’s property in Woodstock, New York, and the two began a physical relationship after her husband left her in December 2017.

According to NY Mag, Caroline fell asleep one day while reading stories to the child in Gaiman’s bed. When he returned, he “laid down with his son in the middle, then reached over to grab Caroline’s hand and put it on his penis,” the NY Mag story reads. Caroline says she jumped out of bed. “He had no limits,” Caroline told NY Mag. “I remember thinking there was something really wrong with him.”

In December 2021, Caroline claims Gaiman’s business manager offered her $5,000 to sign an NDA and vacate the property. She asked for a much higher sum – $300,000 – which Gaiman agreed to. His representatives told NY Mag that “Caroline initiated the sexual relations” and denied “that he engaged in any sexual activity with her in the presence of her son.”

Another accuser is Kendra Stout, who was 18 when she first met Gaiman at a book signing in Florida. Their relationship became physical three years later, and in 2007 she alleged he raped her during a trip to the Cornish countryside after she repeatedly told him “no” due to a bad urinary infection. Stout filed a police report in October, according to NY Mag.

Katherine Kendall, who was 22 when she first met Gaiman in 2012, also spoke out, alleging that Gaiman tried to assault her on his tour bus after she told him she didn’t want to have sex with him. New York Magazine reports that years later he gave her $60,000 for therapy to – as he said in a recorded phone call – “undo the damage.”

As the NY Mag article notes, since Tortoise’s explosive report in July, several of Gaiman’s film and television projects have been affected. Season 3 of Prime Video’s “Good Omens” will now end with a 90-minute episode, without Gaiman being part of the production. Disney suspended production on its film adaptation of “The Graveyard Book” and Netflix canceled “Dead Boy Detectives,” although it was unclear whether that was related to the allegations. However, “The Sandman” season 2 is still expected to release this year on Netflix, in addition to the adaptation of Prime Video’s “Anansi Boys” series (Netflix and Prime Video did not immediately respond Varietyrequest for comment on the status of these broadcasts).