Author Neil Gaiman issued a statement in response to the allegations of sexual assault and abuse by multiple women reported in a recent bombshell New York Magazine exposé.
In a post to the author's website on Tuesday, Gaiman wrote, "I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone."
Gaiman's denial follows an extensive report by Lila Shapiro that includes the testimonies of eight women accusing Gaiman of sexual abuse and assault — some of whom already shared their alleged experiences with Gaiman on the podcast, "Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman" last year.
"There are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen," Gaiman commented after the exposé on him was widely circulated online.
“I went back to read the messages I exchanged with the women around and following the occasions that have subsequently been reported as being abusive," he wrote. "These messages read now as they did when I received them – of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again.”
Gaiman wrote that during these encounters with women, he was "emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been.”
He continued, emphasizing his denial, “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.”
In Shapiro's lengthy and detailed story, numerous accusers painted Gaiman as a predator to be feared. His alleged relationships with these women typically started as innocent interactions with his fans and employees. One of the accusers, Gaiman's former nanny, Scarlett Pavlovich, filed sexual assault claims against Gaiman in 2023, however, a police spokesperson said the “matter has been closed.”
Gaiman denied the allegations in the story through his legal team, branding them “false, not to mention, deplorable.”
