Author Neil Gaiman denies sexual assault allegations

Sandman author Neil Gaiman has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, saying he has "never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever".

The 64-year-old was accused on Monday of sexual misconduct by eight women, including four who had previously spoken out.

On Tuesday, in a blog post titled Breaking The Silence, Gaiman said he had read the allegations with "horror and dismay".

He wrote: "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 continued: "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.

"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 sexual activity with anyone. Ever."

The fantasy graphic novel and science-fiction writer - whose books Good Omens, American Gods and The Sandman have been adapted for television - was the subject of a New York Magazine cover story on Monday.

The magazine and its website Vulture reported allegations from eight women, four of whom also previously accused Gaiman of sexual assault in July 2024 on a Tortoise Media podcast.

One of the women, who had been babysitting Gaiman's five-year-old child, alleged that he offered her a bath in his garden before joining her in the tub naked, asking her to sit on his lap, and that he sexually assaulted her.

The British author said he read back text messages from the time of the alleged incidents and felt they were "of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships".

"At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides," he wrote.

He acknowledged that he was "careless with people's hearts and feelings" and could have "done so much better", but said he doesn't "accept there was any abuse".

The author said he understood that "not everyone will believe me" and added he would be "doing my very best to deserve their trust, as well as the trust of my readers".

He claimed some of the allegations "simply never happened" while others had been "distorted" to "bear no relationship to reality", but said he would "take responsibility for any missteps I made".

A police report accusing Gaiman of a sexual assault was made in January 2023, but the investigation was eventually dropped.

Since the allegations surfaced, several of Gaiman's film and TV projects have been affected.

Season three of Prime Video's Good Omens will now comprise one 90-minute episode, with Gaiman no longer involved.

Disney has paused production on its film adaptation of another Gaiman title, The Graveyard Book, while Netflix has cancelled Dead Boy Detectives, although it's not clear if this was related to the allegations.

Season two of The Sandman is still expected to be released this year on Netflix, however, as well as Prime Video's series adaptation of Anansi Boys.