Author Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’

Nine women have come forward to accuse the 65-year-old English author of sexual misconduct

Neil Gaiman posted on Facebook: 'The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages, and video evidence that flatly contradict them.' File picture: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Neil Gaiman has said that multiple sexual assault allegations against him are “simply untrue” and claimed to be the victim of a “smear campaign”, in the first post addressing the accusations for almost a year.

Gaiman, 65, author of novels including Coraline,  American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, has faced allegations of sexual abuse and coercive behaviour which were outlined in a podcast by the Tortoise Media team in July 2024.

When New York Magazine published its own investigation in January 2025, Gaiman made a statement insisting he had “never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever”.

Nine women have come forward to accuse Gaiman of sexual misconduct.

They include Scarlett Pavlovich, the former nanny to Gaiman and his wife, Amanda Palmer. The couple, who have a son together, are going through a divorce.

On Monday evening, Gaiman posted on his Facebook author page for the first time since the allegations broke, save for a book-related post in November, to say he had “learned first-hand how effective a smear campaign can be”. He said: 

The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages, and video evidence that flatly contradict them.

“These allegations, especially the really salacious ones, have been spread and amplified by people who seemed a lot more interested in outrage and getting clicks on headlines rather than whether things had actually happened or not. (They didn’t.)” 

Gaiman said he had hoped there would be journalistic investigations that “would take the (mountains of) evidence into account” but he had been “astonished to see how much of the reporting was simply an echo chamber, and how the actual evidence was dismissed or ignored”. He added: 

One thing that’s kept me going through all this madness is the conviction that the truth would, eventually, come out. 

Since the allegations were published, one of Gaiman’s comic publishers, Dark Horse, has dropped him, while DC Comics, publishers of The Sandman, pulled a planned reprint of his work from its schedule. 

A stage play of Gaiman’s children’s book Coraline was cancelled a year ago after the claims against him.

Gaiman also revealed that, despite the condemnation he has faced and many fans turning against him, he had begun writing again and was close to finishing a new novel.

“Thank you again to so many of you for your belief in my innocence and your support for my work. It has meant the world to me,” he said.

• The Guardian

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