Neil Gaiman denies sexual assault allegations by two women

Neil Gaiman — the bestselling author whose work includes a series of comic books The Sandman, and novels Good omens And American Gods — has denied allegations of sexual assault made against him by two women he was having relationships with at the time, Tortoise Media reports.

The allegations were made during Tortoise's four-part podcast Master: The Accusations Against Neil Gaimanwhich was made public on Wednesday. The women denounce “brutal and degrading sexual relations” with the author, which, according to them, were not always consensual.

One of the women, Scarlett, 23, worked as a nanny for his child. She claimed that Gaiman assaulted her in February 2022, just hours after they first met, while she was taking a bath at his home in New Zealand. Gaiman told the outlet that he and Scarlett “cuddled” and “kissed” in the bath and that it was consensual; he added that during the three-week sexual relationship they had, they only engaged in digital penetration.

Scarlett claims that while they were in a consensual relationship, Gaiman also sexually assaulted her with nonconsensual “rough and degrading penetrative sexual acts,” according to the outlet’s description in its investigation. In one incident, the pain “was so painful and so violent” that she lost consciousness. “The pain was heavenly,” she said. When she asked him to stop, “he laughed and said I needed to be punished and used his belt on me,” she said on the podcast, via The telegraph. Gaiman denied the accusation to Tortoise.

The second woman, who goes by the name K, was 18 when she first met him in 2003 at a book signing in Florida. She claims they began a relationship when she was in her 20s and he was in his 40s. During their relationship, she claims she was subjected to rough and painful sex “that she neither wanted nor enjoyed.” At one point, she claims he penetrated her over her objections because she had a urinary tract infection; the incident left her “screaming” in pain. Gaiman has denied K’s allegations and told Tortoise he was “disturbed” by the accusations.

Gaiman's representatives did not immediately respond. Rolling stonerequests for comments.

According to Tortoise's investigation, K did not file a police report. Scarlett filed a complaint with the New Zealand Police in October 2022.

Gaiman told Tortoise that police had not followed up on his offer to assist with the investigation into the complaint, saying this demonstrated the complaint’s lack of substance. But New Zealand police told the outlet that they had made “several attempts to speak to key individuals in relation to this investigation and those efforts were ongoing,” adding that there were “a number of factors to consider in this case, including the whereabouts of all parties.”