Neil Gaiman breaks silence on assault allegations and denies “horrible stories”
NetflixFollowing a report sharing graphic details on the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman, the writer has ‘broken his silence’ with a lengthy blog post. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Tortoise Media first published the allegations against the Good Omens author in July 2024, with its four-part podcast series ‘Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman’ detailing sexual assault claims from five women.
The following month, three more women came forward with accusations that were detailed in additional episodes of the podcast. Many of the accusers were in sexual relationships with Gaiman, but they claim they turned violent and non-consensual.
Eight women came forward to discuss the allegations in further detail in a Vulture report published this week. Gaiman, whose TV and movie projects have come to a halt, has now shared his response.
Neil Gaiman addresses allegations in journal post
Prime VideoOn Tuesday, January 14, The Sandman author took to his online journal to deny the allegations, saying, “Over the past many months, I have watched the stories circulating the internet about me with horror and dismay.
“I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.”
Gaiman said he’s tried to be a “private person” but has “reached the point” where he feels he should say something.
He claimed that the latest accounts are only half-true, saying, “I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.” Rather than admitting to sexual assault, Gaiman says he “could’ve done so much better.”
“I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused, and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with people’s hearts and feelings, and that’s something that I really, deeply regret,” he said.
Gaiman also suggested he’s “learning” and “trying to do the work needed”. He finished the post by writing, “Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality.
“I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can’t accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn’t do.”
Gaiman’s representatives responded to a number of the claims made in the Vulture report, alleging that they were consensual and denying engaging in sexual activity in the presence of his son.
Prime VideoThey also responded to the claims in the podcast, telling Tortoise that “sexual degradation, bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism may not be to everyone’s taste, but between consenting adults, BDSM is lawful.”
Although a complaint accusing Gaiman of sexual assault was made to New Zealand police in January 2023, the case was dropped. It’s currently unclear whether Gaiman will face a further investigation from police in other territories.
For now, his TV and movie projects have come to a halt. Good Omens was meant to have a Season 3, but in October 2024, Prime Video announced it would come to an end with a feature-length episode.
The month prior, it was announced that Disney has paused its movie adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book amid the allegations.
Gaiman faces backlash to new statement
Since publishing his response to the allegations, Gaiman has faced fresh backlash to his comments. Taking to X/Twitter, writer Meg Vondriska said, “Neil Gaiman’s statement is so f**king heinous.
“To sit there and do nothing but deny while positioning himself as someone who is ‘learning’, ‘trying to do the work’, and continuing ‘to grow’ while saying he doesn’t ‘accept there was any abuse’ is so f**king despicable.”
Writer Ben Stephens added, “My response to Neil Gaiman’s response to the extensive account of his abusive behavior to multiple women,” alongside a middle finger gif.
Author Jared Garrett shared a lengthy statement, in which he said, “First off, go find 2-3 good sources (not Wikipedia) and learn what constitutes narcissism. Then understand that he’s a narcissist and has been for much of his life.
“Next, read the no-responsibility-here letter closely. He uses all the right words to try to act like this is not that big of a deal and also back in ancient history when he was doing this stuff, he just saw it differently and it’s all consensual anyway.”
Garrett went on to say, “Neil Gaiman should now be prosecuted to the absolute fullest extent of the law in every country, province, territory, and state he abused women in. Then he should be forgotten.”