Neil Gaiman denies new sexual assault and abuse allegations by two women

Neil Gaiman has denied new allegations by two women who claim they were "sexually assaulted or abused" by the author. 

In a new Tortoise Media episode of the podcast series "Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman", a woman claims that she was "pressured to have sex" between 2017 and 2021 in return for living in the author’s property. She also alleges that she signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for $275,000 (£214,169), which she claims was to support her mental health after their sexual relationship.

In the same episode, another woman says the author made an "unwanted" pass at her in 1986 when they were both in London in their twenties. The woman has named herself as Julia Hobsbawm, a former book publicist who is now a writer and consultant, who released the following statement: "The work undertaken by Tortoise has led me to reveal a deeply personal experience with Neil, many years ago, which I had convinced myself could be forgiven when it was never forgotten. I have decided to lend my testimony in support of the women who have come forward to date and potentially other women, to share their testimony as a matter of record and to call on Neil Gaiman to account for his alleged behaviour."

Gaiman denied those allegations when he was approached by Tortoise Media. On Hobsbawm, Tortoise reported that Gaiman’s account is that when he realised Hobsbawm wasn’t receptive to his attempt to kiss her, he stopped. His position is that it was no more than a young man misreading a situation.

The allegations come weeks after Gaiman strongly denied allegations of "non-consensual sex" and "sexual assault" reported in an investigation by Tortoise.

In an episode of a separate podcast by counsellor Papillon DeBoer, released on 28th July, another woman alleged that the author "groomed and sexually coerced and manipulated" her. She spoke with the host of "Am I Broken: Survivor Stories", in an episode entitled "I Ignored It and I Believed Him Because He’s the Storyteller [Neil Gaiman]".

In the episode description, DeBoer said about the woman: "We originally spoke in 2022 and at that time she decided she wasn’t ready, but said that if other survivors came forward, she would join them. Several weeks ago two women came forward and shared abuse stories about Neil Gaiman."

The author’s representatives did not return calls seeking comment, but Tortoise noted his denials.

The Bookseller has reached out to Gaiman’s publishers, with Headline and Penguin Random House (PRH) declining to comment and Bloomsbury and HarperCollins – which publishes Gaiman in America – not responding to requests for comment.

There has been very little pick-up of the allegations across the media, but Tortoise further reported that the UN refugee agency, where Gaiman is a goodwill ambassador, said the allegations against him were "very serious" adding: "We are assessing the detailed reporting but are not currently in a position to comment further."