Editor: Christina P.
Neil Gaiman is the beloved author of books such as Coraline, Good Omens, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. He has won countless awards, including Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards. Gaiman is adored for both for his work and advocacy, such as his support of the UN Refugee Agency. However, recent sexual assault allegations have come to light, which have devastated many in his fanbase. There were also whispers of issues regarding Gaiman prior to these allegations, including links to Scientology[1] and Zionism[2].
The Allegations
Gaiman faced allegations of sexual assault, which were highlighted in an article and podcast published by Tortoise Media on July 3rd, 2024. The article alleges that while the relationship was consensual, many of the sexual acts were not. The first victim, Scarlett, has accused Gaiman of grooming her, stating, “[h]e made me feel like it was consensual, but it wasn’t consensual.” [3]
Scarlett was introduced to Gaiman by his wife, Amanda Palmer, who hired her as a babysitter. Allegedly, Gaiman made sexual advances towards Scarlett within hours of her arrival at the estate. Accusations from Scarlett include non-consensual anal penetration, oral sex as a punishment, and Gaiman using his belt on Scarlett.
The publication from Tortoise also includes testimony from another victim of Gaiman’s, referred to as “K”. This victim met Gaiman’s wife, Amanda, as an 18-year-old in 2003 and was invited to bed with Gaiman after dinner a year later. Though K and her friend refused this invitation at the time, K and Gaiman began a relationship a year later when K was 20. Similar to Scarlett, K informed Tortoise that while the relationship itself was consensual, there were sexual acts that were not.
It is important to note that while both victims state that the relationships were consensual, there was a clear power imbalance from the start. In Scarlett’s case, she was a hired employee at the time and significantly younger than Gaiman (21 to his 61). Beyond the age difference and employee/employer relationship, Gaiman holds significant fame, status, and wealth. With the second victim, K, she was 20 to his 45. Even though the employee/employer relationship was absent, Gaiman still had the stardom and affluence, which further exacerbated the existing power imbalance.
As Annabel Ross states in the forementioned article, “anyone who’s worked with victims of grooming and assault can tell you how common it is for survivors to develop feelings for their abusers, as an expert points out on the podcast.”[4]
This highlights that these women saw the relationship, at the time, as consensual. This is not remotely uncommon in cases of sexual abuse. It is not surprising at all that these women were placed into a situation where holding onto a sense of agency likely felt extremely important during the course of the relationship with Gaiman.
These accusations were met with a rebuttal from Gaiman, who referred to Scarlett as “mentally ill” with a condition of “associated with false memories” – that has yet to be proven through medical records of any sort.
The Response to the Allegations
Discussions of these allegations exploded on social media, along with apprehension about the source material. The primary journalist on this article is Rachel Johnson, sister of Boris Johnson and notorious TERF who regularly shares Zionist propaganda on social media.[5]
As such, fans were wary of the source of these allegations. However, some posts from those in the industry indicate that this may have been a ‘hush hush’ situation for quite some time. This does align with the Tortoise publication, that indicates that Gaiman’s wife, Amanda Palmer, knew of these allegations.
“Scarlett says she told Amanda Palmer about what happened with Gaiman the following month and that Palmer told her she was “the 14th fucking woman who had gone to her.” According to Scarlett, when she broached the subject with Palmer saying, “Neil made a pass at me,” Palmer responded, “I bet he did.” Palmer did not respond to Tortoise’s numerous emails and Whatsapp messages requesting comment.” (source)
Scientology
Gaiman has a familial connection to Scientology as his father served as the Church of Scientology’s Public Relations Director in the 60s and 70s. Gaiman’s parents have been referred to as “Scientology Royalty” in Britain and his sisters, Claire and Lizzie, held positions as the head of Scientology Missions International and executive director of Wealden House Life Improvement Centre, respectively.
While Gaiman grew up in Scientology while still practicing Judaism, it is important to note that despite these familial connections to Scientology, Gaiman expressed to BBC interviewer David Sillito that he is not a Scientologist.[6] Despite this, some quotes from Gaiman regarding Scientology are questionable. Gaiman has expressed a sense of solidarity with Scientology to journalist Dana Goodyear stating, “I will stand with groups when I feel like they’re being properly persecuted.”[7] However, as we know, Scientology is a group that has more than earned their reputation for abuse, harassment, and other dangerous activities.
This 2010 interview also states that his sisters are still members of the Church of Scientology, which may simply indicate that Gaiman is attempting to maintain a relationship with his remaining family members. As he is rather close-lipped about his relationship with highly problematic ‘religion’, it is rather difficult to ascertain just how closely tied Gaiman is to Scientology. Considering the threat that Scientology poses to those who speak out against the ‘church’, it is incredibly likely that this is simply a safety precaution as well.
Criticism of Gaiman’s connection to Scientology includes his book The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which is inspired by the story of Johannes Scheepers.[8] A lodger of the Gaiman’s in the 60s, Scheepers was alleged by the Gaimans to be a gambler who took his life when his gambling spiraled out of control. Similar to his parents, Neil is accused of twisting the truth to suit his narrative and exploiting the story of Scheepers’ suicide. In this 2023 article, the author alleges that Gaiman included false information stating, “additional info about ‘smuggling’ and financial restrictions in South Africa were factually incorrect; there were no financial restrictions between South Africa and the UK in the sixties.”[9]
On the other hand, there are readings of this book that argue the above article overlooks the villain of the book, the worm, which symbolizes Scientology and how it distorted his family. Regardless if the reading of the book in the article is accurate, the interview comes across as tasteless at best.
Zionism
Accusations of Gaiman’s connection to Zionism stem from this 2015 tweet in which Gaiman states, “I think Israel has the right to exist. I think Palestine needs to be a country, or Palestinians need full Israeli citizenship.” This inherently recognizes Israel’s right to exist despite being an illegal occupation based on violent settler colonialism and apartheid.
This was once again brought up on Gaiman’s Tumblr account when a user asked if Gaiman’s views had changed since the tweet was first posted. Gaiman’s response was that he hadn’t changed his mind about either statement.
Since then, there has not been much to find on Gaiman’s Twitter regarding the genocide of Palestine. Searches for items such as “Palestine” or “Gaza” yield few results save for an article on Israeli group, “Breaking the Silence.” Breaking the Silence gathers oral testimonies from Israeli soldiers who are critical of the occupation and face severe criticism within Israel. Gaiman has reblogged a post on Tumblr regarding activist arrests for attempts to distribute aid to Gaza.
While this indicates to a reasonable reader that Gaiman likely considers himself progressive regarding the occupation of Palestine, sharing an article covering Breaking the Silence reveals that Gaiman is critical of the Israeli government – but is failing to acknowledge the extent of the violence caused by the occupation.
Where does this leave Gaiman’s readers?
Understandably, many of Gaiman’s readers have continued to feel shocked and betrayed by the sexual assault allegations. Discovering your heroes are not who you thought they were is a painful feeling that readers will need to take time to come to terms with. However, it is important to continue to believe victims of sexual assault and grooming. While Rachel Johnson’s political beliefs are abhorrent, reporter Paul Caruana Galizia is known to be reputable.
Further, I anticipate that we will continue to see more authors and industry professionals come forward with accounts of Gaiman’s behavior. As the saying goes, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
7/29/24 update: A third victim has spoken out against Gaiman in the podcast Am I Broken: Survivor Stories.
In the podcast, the victim states that she’d been trying to tell her story since 2019, but the journalists she had contacted felt it wasn’t enough to establish a pattern of behavior as she was a singular person making these allegations. Access the transcript of this episode on Apple Podcasts.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/01/magazine/neil-gaiman-interview.html
[2] https://thesuperslice.com/blog/neil-gaiman-the-state-of-israel-a-zionist-remains-unconfirmed/
[3] https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2024/07/03/exclusive-neil-gaiman-accused-of-sexual-assault/
[4] https://politicsdancingxyz.substack.com/p/manufacturing-consent?utm_medium=ios
[5] OPINION – Rachel Johnson: When it comes to trans issues, JK Rowling is the heir to George Orwell (yahoo.com)
[6] The BBC Interviews Neil Gaiman About Books, Comics And Scientology (bleedingcool.com)
[7] Neil Gaiman’s Fantasies | The New Yorker
[8] Neil Gaiman’s Scientology Suicide Story (mikerindersblog.org)
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