Neil Gaiman, the author of “The Sandman” and “Coraline” has been accused of sexual assault in a New York Magazine cover story. Multiple women have come forward, now speaking on record about the experience.

This is not the first time that we have heard of Gaiman being accused of sexual assault. Back in July, Tortoise Media revealed that he had been accused of sexual assault by five women. This was via a six-part podcast titled, “Master” that covered the allegations by two women. Some of the accusers used only their first names or made-up names. However, up to that point, no major news outlet had covered the story.

THE NEW YORK MAGAZINE PIECE

The New York Magazine Piece is titled, “There Is No Safe Word”. Reporter Lila Shapiro spoke to eight women who allege to have similar experiences with Gaiman. Four of them had participated in Tortoise’s podcast.

One of the women is named Scarlett Pavlovich. Her story in the piece is also shared via Variety. She claims that when she was 22, she met Gaiman’s ex-wife, Amanda Palmer in New Zealand. After becoming friends Palmer had asked Pavlovich to help her babysit her and Gaiman’s 5-year-old.

Pavlovich claims that she first met Gaiman, while waiting for the child to finish a playdate. Gaiman offered her a bath in his garden. She alleges that he joined her in the tub naked and sexually assaulted her. She also says this behavior continued for the remainder of the time that she babysat for the family.

NEIL GAIMAN INITIAL RESPONCE TO ACCUSATIONS

After the release of the podcast, representatives for Gaiman told the Tortoise podcast that, “sexual degradation, bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism may not be to everyone’s taste, but between consenting adults, BDSM is lawful.” The New York Magazine article does state that all the accusers had at times played along by calling Gaiman “master” like he wanted and continued to communicate with him. However, all the women allege that consent and specific BDSM activities had not been agreed upon.

Gaiman has denied all allegations against him since the release of the podcast. He claims that all relations were consensual. At the time of this written piece, Gaimen had not responded to Variety’s request for comment on the New York Magazine piece. Some of the women have been reported to have been paid to sign NDA. One had even received $60,000 for therapy.

The New York Magazine piece says that since the podcast, many of Gaiman’s projects have been affected. For example, Season 3 of Prime Video’s “Good Omens” will wrap up with a 90-minute episode. Gaiman is not part of the production. Netflix has canceled “Dead Boy Detectives”, though unclear if it’s related to the accusations. Especially because it seems that “The Sandman” Season 2 is still expected to be released. Disney has paused production on “The Graveyard Book”.