"I don't accept there was any abuse"— Neil Gaiman denies allegations of s*xual misconduct in journal article

Neil Gaiman has broken his silence about the s*xual misconduct allegations made against him. New York Magazine, via its website Vulture, wrote a cover story on Monday, January 13, 2025, where it details fresh claims of s*xual misconduct being made against the fantasy graphic novelist.

It comes after Tortoise Media first broke the news of initial s*xual assault allegations made by two women against Gaiman in their Master: The allegations against Neil Gaiman podcast series in July 2024.

After months of allegations made by multiple women, including by the former nanny, Scarlett Pavlovich, the author took to his blog on Tuesday, January 14, to deny the allegations. In the journal piece titled Breaking The Silence, Gaiman explicitly denied engaging in non-consensual s*xual activities:

"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 se*xual activity with anyone."

He also reacted to the latest accusations made against him, saying:

"As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual s*xual activity with anyone. Ever.."

While he said that some of the stories being told are true, their details have become "distorted" from what actually happened. He reiterated that he never engaged in non-consensual s*xual activities with anyone and won't accept being branded being s*xually abusive, adding:

"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."

Since the s*xual misconduct allegations were made against Neil Gaiman, several of his film and TV projects have been affected. BBC reported on January 14 that Prime Video cut his Good Omens 3 to one episode instead of a full season, Disney has paused production for the film adaptation of his The Graveyard Book, and Netflix has canceled Dead Boy Detectives, among others.

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Neil Gaiman talks about breaking the silence amid new s*xual misconduct allegations made against him

In his journal piece, Breaking The Silence, on his website on January 14, Neil Gaiman shared the reasons why he's finally speaking up about the recent s*xual misconduct allegations that multiple women have made against him.

"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," he wrote in the blog.

The Dead Boy Detectives creator said that he had always tried to be a private person, and thought that social media was the "wrong place" to tackle such important personal matters. However, he said, that with recent allegations, he felt that he "should say something."

Neil Gaiman admitted that in light of the new allegations of s*xual misconduct he's facing, he went back and read the conversations he had with the women at the time being reported that he was being abusive. However, he didn't see or read anything inappropriate.

"These messages read now as they did when I received them—of two people enjoying entirely consensual s*xual relationships and wanting to see one another again," he wrote.

That said, the author said that he could have done something to be more thoughtful during those relationships. He admitted to being s*xually available to those women but emotionally unavailable for them, and that it was "selfish" of him.