Allegations of sexual abuse against author Neil Gaiman expanded as four more women shared their experiences with with New York Magazine for an article that weaves a tale of control, boundary-crossing and murky consent at the hands of the famed genre author.
Five women initially accused Gaiman of sexual misconduct as part of the podcast series “Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman.” Vulture journalist Lila Shapiro notes in the Monday article that she spoke to four of those five, plus “four others whose stories share elements with theirs.”
Representatives for Gaiman did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment Monday. However, one is quoted in the article saying the allegations are “false, not to mention deplorable.”
Two of the women interviewed for New York Magazine’s article — Scarlett Pavlovich and Caroline Wallner — have previously spoken out about the author. Pavlovich, a former nanny for Gaiman and his ex-wife Amanda Palmer, says Gaiman approached her naked while she was bathing in his house, then repeatedly tried to have sex with her despite Pavlovich’s protests.
The two eventually had sex on numerous occasions but, the way Pavlovich details it, consent around these encounters was murky at best. She also details several disturbing encounters such as Gaiman having sex with her while his young child was in the room and forcing her to have oral sex so violently that she vomited, whereupon he forced her to eat it.
As for Wallner, she was also in a position where she was financially dependent on Gaiman, having lived on the author’s property where she worked as a caretaker. As she developed a sexual relationship with Gaiman, it started to become transactional – with sexual acts being given in exchange for she and her daughters being allowed to stay on the property.
The article also details accusations from two fans of the author — Katherine Kendall, who met Gaiman when she was 22, and Kendra Stout, who met the author when she was 18. At one point, Gaiman allegedly laid on top of Kendall despite the fact she told him she did not want to have sex.
Later, the “American Gods” scribe paid Kendall $60,000 for therapy. Unlike Kendall, Stout claimed she had sex with Gaiman when she was roughly 21 years old. The encounter was described as “painful” as the article details Gaiman’s fascination with BDSM. Like Pavlovich’s account, she told Gaiman “no” and was ignored.
Yet another woman, who asked to go by Rachel, told the publication about Gaiman’s fascination with BDSM, though added there was no “blatant rupture of consent” during their encounters.
Though nine women have now accused Gaiman of inappropriate sexual behavior, Palmer allegedly told Pavlovich that 14 women have come to her with similar stories.
The sexual assault allegations surrounding Gaiman have already impacted his work in Hollywood. Production on Prime Video’s “Good Omens” Season 3 was paused before the season was turned into a 90-minute series finale. Disney has also paused its work on an adaptation of “The Graveyard Book.”