Overview

Neil Gaiman Assault Allegations refers to accusations of sexual assault levied by two women against English author and writer Neil Gaiman in early July 2024. The allegations, issued by a former nanny (a 23-year-old named Scarlett) and by a fan (named only as K) who first met him in 2003 at a book signing event in Florida when she was 18, were reported exclusively via a four-part podcast series by Tortoise Media. The controversy prompted discussions as well as skepticism online, with some internet users questioning the ethics of reporting on something as serious as an assault by promoting a true crime podcast. Following the claims surfacing online, Gaiman denied them publically. In January 2025, the New Yorker published an article with more testimonies issued by women who worked as nannies for Gaiman, including several who said that Gaiman's ex-wife Amanda Palmer played a significant role in recruiting them to be exploited by Gaiman.

Background

On July 3rd, 2024, news podcast Tortoise made a post on X / Twitter^[1] about its new series, called "Master," which revolves around allegations of sexual assault levied against Neil Gaiman. The post announces that Tortoise News will be covering the story in a four-part podcast series featuring claims from two women who allege that Gaiman sexually assaulted them in 2005 and 2022.^[7]

Today we release our latest investigation.Author Neil Gaiman has been accused of sexual assault by two former partners in the first claims of misconduct against him, and is the subject of a police complaint in New Zealand.Listen: https://t.co/emjtiynCnS 🧵1/6 pic.twitter.com/3eOyxHakcm

— Tortoise (@tortoise) July 3, 2024

The accusations were also covered in an article posted by Tortoise News, however, the piece does not delve into the specifics of the Whatsapp chats and alleged evidence involved in the case.^[2]

Online Reactions

Various X users reacted to the news as it emerged in early July 2024, with user @BenoitBlancFan^[3] writing, "Bro is 63 and just admitted to having sex with an 18-year-old fan there's no way that it wasn't at the very least a major power imbalance," and gathering over 28,000 likes in July 3rd, 2024 (seen below, left). The podcast alleges that Gaiman's relationship with the fan began when she was 20.

Also on July 3rd, X^[4] user @bordigay posted screenshots from Tortoise News's article, writing, "the neil gaiman allegations are disgusting." The post gathered over 13,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Various internet users also questioned the ethics of reporting on sexual allegations in the form of a four-part exclusive and paywalled podcast series that lacks any direct quotes from Gaiman.

For example, on July 3rd, 2024, X^[5] user @sapphyreblayze wrote, "I wanna say two things. Firstly, those Neil Gaiman allegations are horrifying, and my heart goes out to the women affected. Secondly, using such serious allegations to promote your tacky true crime podcast is exploitative and disgusting" (seen below, top). The post received over 3.7 million views and 53,000 likes in two days.

X^[6] user @JeffandWill made a similar post also on July 3rd, saying that the allegations must be taken seriously, but that tying such an investigation to a podcast series is unethical (seen below, bottom). Their post received over 235,000 views and 4,800 likes in a similar timeframe.

Neil Gaiman's Response

Later on July 3rd, 2024, after Tortoise Media released the podcast and the allegations, Neil Gaiman denied the sexual assault accusations made by the two women. According to reports, Gaiman said he and Scarlett "made out" and "cuddled" in a bath but that it was consensual between the two. He also claimed that they only engaged in "digital penetration."^[8] Regarding the woman who went by "K," Gaiman stated that he was "disturbed" by the accusations but denied them.^[9]

January 2025 New Yorker Article

On January 13th, 2025, the New Yorker published an article detailing more sexual assault allegations levied against Gaiman by several young women hired to babysit his children. Notably, the article discussed how Neil Gaiman's ex-wife Amanda Palmer allegedly played a pivotal role in hiring vulnerable young women with the knowledge that Gaiman would exploit them. The article also delved into how Gaiman allegedly engaged in sexual violence in front of his 10-year-old son.^[10]

The article was reposted to Reddit's /r/books^[11] on January 13th with the same caption as the title of the article, "There Is No Safe Word; How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades." The post gathered over 17,000 upvotes in a day.

Also on January 13th, X^[12] user @earthgirls_r_ez tweeted, "that neil gaiman article is absolutely insane amanda palmer essentially pimping out a variety of suicidal young women to her sex pest husband for him to rape and molest in front of their child while publically being an outspoken feminist is just beyond the pale," gathering over 40,000 likes in a day.

On the same date, co-host of the Red Scare podcast Anna Khachiyan^[13] tweeted, "Are we really still doing this? MeToo was rejected at the ballot box!" adding, "Why are they publishing her moody selfies with horny captions in a story about her rape?"

The posts received criticism from a wider audience, as seen in a response posted by X^[14] user @LittleMammith that read, "You'd think Anna and her gang of cynical dorks would jump on the chance to go after a Woke Male Feminist but it looks like they all did the math and realized it would still play better with their audience to just be explicitly pro-rape."

Search Interest

External References