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Neil Gaiman responds to sexual misconduct allegations, but his UK publishers remain silent
The Sandman author Neil Gaiman has broken his silence to strongly deny allegations of sexual misconduct eight months after he was first accused. None of his UK publishers have yet made statements despite repeated requests for comment.
Gaiman was the subject of a report published by New York Magazine/Vulture over the weekend, which included sexual misconduct accusations from eight women, four of whom had previously accused him of sexual assault in a Tortoise Media podcast published in July 2024 called “Master: The Allegations against Neil Gaiman”.
The author, 64,“strongly denied” all the allegations made against him, including of non-consensual BDSM, made in the Tortoise podcast, but otherwise remained silent despite widespread attempts across international media to contact him both via his publishers and a crisis management firm Edendale Strategies.
Attempts made by The Bookseller to obtain comments about Gaiman from his UK publishers Headline and Bloomsbury were repeatedly ignored last year. The Bookseller also attempted to reach Harper US, Audible, Netflix, Disney and Amazon for comments.
Today, Gaiman published a statement on his author website in which he said he "never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
He writes: “Over the past many months, I have watched the stories circulating the internet about me with horror and dismay. I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.
“I’ve always tried to be a private person, and felt increasingly that social media was the wrong place to talk about important personal matters. I’ve now reached the point where I feel that I should say something.”
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Gaiman’s most recent publishing has been with Headline and Bloomsbury in the UK; he has sold over 4m units for £34.9m since 2000, including co-authored books such as Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett.
After being contacted by The Bookseller this week, Headline replied declining to comment.
Representatives at Bloomsbury have not responded to further efforts to reach them for comment this week.
One woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by Gaiman in a bath in 2022 when she was working as a nanny to his child. She was 23 and he was in his 60s.
Gaiman writes: “As I reflect on my past – and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged – I don’t accept there was any abuse. To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.
“Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality. I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can’t accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn’t do.”
Several of Gaiman’s projects have been shelved since Tortoise first reported the allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Amazon Prime Video series Good Omens, based on Gaiman and Pratchett’s novel, will now end with one 90-minute-long episode, according to Deadline.
Disney reportedly paused its film adaption of The Graveyard Book, according to IndieWire, while the Netflix adaptation of Dead Boy Detectives was cancelled.
Gaiman worked with Netflix on the adaptations of his DC graphic novel The Sandman, the second season of which is due for release later this year.
He has also worked with Audible on the audio versions, with Act IV said to be in production. The Bookseller has reached out to Audible for comment.
