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Author Neil Gaiman Faces New Sexual Assault Allegations, Including Alleged Abuse Of New Zealand Woman

Tuesday, 14 January 2025, 7:51 pm
Article: RNZ

Melanie Earley, Senior journalist

Warning: This story discusses allegations of sexual assault. A list of helplines is available at the bottom of the page.

Six months after author Neil Gaiman was accused of sexual assault by two women, including one from New Zealand, more allegations against him have been revealed.

The 64-year-old fantasy author, known for his works such as The Sandman, Good Omens and American Gods, was first accused of sexual assault in July 2023, by UK-based platform Tortoise media in a podcast series called Master: The allegations against Neil Gaiman.

Multiple women have now spoken to Vulture, a US entertainment news page for the New York Magazine, with allegations of sexual assault.

Writer Lila Shapiro spoke with eight women who detailed their experiences, including four who had previously been featured on the podcast.

One of the women, New Zealander Scarlett Pavlovich, who was hired as a nanny for Gaiman and his ex-wife musician Amanda Palmer, when they were living on Waiheke Island, detailed how she had been friends with Palmer when she was 22 and Palmer was 44, before being introduced to Gaiman.

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She told Vulture she randomly met Palmer on the street in Auckland and they soon became friends. She said she had a crush on Palmer and was happy to help out with looking after her young child she shared with Gaiman (who Palmer was separated from at the time).

Pavlovich said within hours of being introduced to Gaiman he had persuaded her to take a bath naked in his outdoor bathtub, before he joined her and performed a sex act against her will while telling her to call him "master", Vulture reported.

She was 22 and Gaiman was 61.

The alleged assaults continued, Pavlovich told Vulture, throughout her time babysitting for the family and their young child began referring to her as "slave", she said.

On one occasion she passed out due to the pain from a sexual encounter with Gaiman, Pavlovich alleged on the Master podcast.

Pavlovich filed a police report against Gaiman accusing him of sexual assault, but Vulture reported NZ police said "the matter had been closed".

She told Vulture she had to sign an NDA after she stopped working as the family's nanny.

Another woman, Katherine Kendall, who met Gaiman in 2012 when she was 22, alleged he attempted to have sex with her on his tour bus and told her he was "used to getting what he wanted".

Kendra Stout told Vulture she had been a fan of Gaiman's work and met him at a book signing when she was 18.

Stout alleged Gaiman raped her three years later when she asked him to stop due to having a painful urine infection.

Gaiman denied the original allegations in July 2023 and claimed the sexual encounters had been consensual.

RNZ contacted Gaiman's literary agents at Writers House for comment in light of the fresh allegations and to Amanda Palmer.

Where to get help:

Sexual Violence

NZ Police

Victim Support 0800 842 846

Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00

Rape Prevention Education

Empowerment Trust

HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu

Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800044334

Male Survivors Aotearoa

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496

RNZ

New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.

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