section_path: Sexual assault and misconduct allegations
section_name: Sexual assault and misconduct allegations
paragraph_text: Sexual assault and misconduct allegations
  
  In July 2024, five women accused Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse. All five were interviewed on the Tortoise Media podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. One, using the pseudonym "Claire", was also interviewed by The New York Times. Claire described non-consensual kissing and groping by Gaiman after meeting him at a book tour event, with Gaiman making a $60,000 payment to her in August 2022. A woman identified as "K", who also first met Gaiman at a book signing, said that during their relationship he subjected her to painful sex that she "neither wanted nor enjoyed".
  
  Scarlett Pavlovich, a former nanny for Gaiman and Palmer's child, alleges that Gaiman sexually assaulted her within hours of their first meeting in February 2022. Pavlovich recalled that he said "Amanda told me I couldn't have you" after the assault; according to one of Palmer's friends, Palmer had previously told Gaiman "You could really hurt this person and break her; keep your hands off of her". She said that Gaiman had anal sex with her in the presence of his son.
  
  A former tenant of Gaiman's named Caroline Wallner alleges that he demanded sexual favours in exchange for being allowed to continue living on his property. Wallner says that on one occasion Gaiman grabbed her hand and placed it on his penis while his young son was asleep in the same bed. In 2021, Wallner, her ex-husband, and Gaiman signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and Gaiman paid Wallner $275,000. In early 2025, Gaiman and Wallner both requested arbitration, the dispute resolution method mandated by the NDA, each accusing the other of violating the agreement.
  
  The writer Julia Hobsbawm accused Gaiman of "an aggressive, unwanted pass" and described how Gaiman pushed her onto a sofa and French kissed her in 1986.
  
  In September 2024, Disney halted production on the film adaptation of The Graveyard Book due to a variety of factors, including the sexual assault allegations against Gaiman. That same month, production on season three of Good Omens was put on hold; Gaiman ultimately left the project in October.
  
  In January 2025, the New York magazine published a cover story detailing the allegations against Gaiman. This article, which was published online on Vulture, included interviews with four of the women who had previously spoken to Tortoise Media, as well as four more women. Later the same month, Dark Horse Comics announced that they would cut ties with Gaiman over the allegations, including cancelling his ongoing comic adaptation of Anansi Boys. A week later, Netflix announced that The Sandman was canceled, with the series set to conclude with its second season. Gaiman was also dropped as a client by his agent Casarotto Ramsay.
  
  In February 2025, Scarlett Pavlovich filed three federal lawsuits in the US that alleged human trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, alongside formal allegations of sexual assault and coercion. One named Gaiman and Palmer as co-defendants and two were against Palmer alone, seeking at least US$7 million in damages. In his response to the lawsuit, Gaiman claimed that the American court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because the alleged assaults happened in New Zealand, and asked for the case to be dismissed. Gaiman also accused Pavlovich of lying, presenting text messages in which she appeared to confirm that no sexual abuse had taken place, and claimed that police in New Zealand had already investigated her claims and found them to be false.
  
  Gaiman has denied engaging in non-consensual sex, and dismissed Hobsbawm's allegations as his misreading a situation. Gaiman's representatives claim that Wallner initiated their sexual encounters and that none of these occurred in the presence of Gaiman's child. In a blog post responding to coverage of the allegations against him, Gaiman said there were "moments I half-recognise and moments I don't". He denies engaging in any non-consensual sexual activity, but said he could have "done so much better" and was "trying to do the work needed".
  
  In July 2024, five women accused Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse. All five were interviewed on the Tortoise Media podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. One, using the pseudonym "Claire", was also interviewed by The New York Times. Claire described non-consensual kissing and groping by Gaiman after meeting him at a book tour event, with Gaiman making a $60,000 payment to her in August 2022. A woman identified as "K", who also first met Gaiman at a book signing, said that during their relationship he subjected her to painful sex that she "neither wanted nor enjoyed".
  
  Scarlett Pavlovich, a former nanny for Gaiman and Palmer's child, alleges that Gaiman sexually assaulted her within hours of their first meeting in February 2022. Pavlovich recalled that he said "Amanda told me I couldn't have you" after the assault; according to one of Palmer's friends, Palmer had previously told Gaiman "You could really hurt this person and break her; keep your hands off of her". She said that Gaiman had anal sex with her in the presence of his son.
  
  A former tenant of Gaiman's named Caroline Wallner alleges that he demanded sexual favours in exchange for being allowed to continue living on his property. Wallner says that on one occasion Gaiman grabbed her hand and placed it on his penis while his young son was asleep in the same bed. In 2021, Wallner, her ex-husband, and Gaiman signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and Gaiman paid Wallner $275,000. In early 2025, Gaiman and Wallner both requested arbitration, the dispute resolution method mandated by the NDA, each accusing the other of violating the agreement.
  
  The writer Julia Hobsbawm accused Gaiman of "an aggressive, unwanted pass" and described how Gaiman pushed her onto a sofa and French kissed her in 1986.
  
  In September 2024, Disney halted production on the film adaptation of The Graveyard Book due to a variety of factors, including the sexual assault allegations against Gaiman. That same month, production on season three of Good Omens was put on hold; Gaiman ultimately left the project in October.
  
  In January 2025, the New York magazine published a cover story detailing the allegations against Gaiman. This article, which was published online on Vulture, included interviews with four of the women who had previously spoken to Tortoise Media, as well as four more women. Later the same month, Dark Horse Comics announced that they would cut ties with Gaiman over the allegations, including cancelling his ongoing comic adaptation of Anansi Boys. A week later, Netflix announced that The Sandman was canceled, with the series set to conclude with its second season. Gaiman was also dropped as a client by his agent Casarotto Ramsay.
  
  In February 2025, Scarlett Pavlovich filed three federal lawsuits in the US that alleged human trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, alongside formal allegations of sexual assault and coercion. One named Gaiman and Palmer as co-defendants and two were against Palmer alone, seeking at least US$7 million in damages. In his response to the lawsuit, Gaiman claimed that the American court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because the alleged assaults happened in New Zealand, and asked for the case to be dismissed. Gaiman also accused Pavlovich of lying, presenting text messages in which she appeared to confirm that no sexual abuse had taken place, and claimed that police in New Zealand had already investigated her claims and found them to be false.
  
  Gaiman has denied engaging in non-consensual sex, and dismissed Hobsbawm's allegations as his misreading a situation. Gaiman's representatives claim that Wallner initiated their sexual encounters and that none of these occurred in the presence of Gaiman's child. In a blog post responding to coverage of the allegations against him, Gaiman said there were "moments I half-recognise and moments I don't". He denies engaging in any non-consensual sexual activity, but said he could have "done so much better" and was "trying to do the work needed".