'The Sandman' writer Neil Gaiman accused of sexual assault by 9 women: Report

Four new allegations are surfacing among nearly a dozen accusations from women who say award-winning novelist Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted them.

Vulture published a report Monday outlining the new allegations against Gaiman, as well as allegations first revealed last year. Gaiman, 64, is the famed English fantasy writer behind "The Sandman," "Good Omens," "American Gods" and "Coraline," all of which have been turned into film and television adaptations, among others.

A six-episode podcast series from the U.K. media outlet Tortoise, titled "Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman," during summer 2024, first outlined five allegations of sexual assault. Vulture's investigation includes four allegations that "share elements with theirs," and the outlet is said to have reviewed texts, diary entries, emails with friends and police communications.

The youngest alleged victim was 18, but most of the women were in their 20s when the alleged assaults occurred, while Gaiman was in his 40s or older, with one exception in which a woman claims the writer forcibly kissed her in 1986 (when Gaiman was in his mid-20s). Some of the women were fans, and a few worked with him at the time of the alleged incidents.

Gaiman's representatives have responded to some outlets, claiming the incidents were consensual and instances of practicing BDSM (bondage, discipline/dominance, submission/sadism and masochism).

Gaiman himself responded to the allegations in a lengthy open letter shared on his official website Tuesday. While the author acknowledged he was "careless with people's hearts and feelings," he vehemently denied the claims of sexual abuse, adding, "I'm not willing to turn my back on the truth."

'I don't accept there was any abuse': Neil Gaiman denies sexual assault allegations

One woman, Scarlett Pavlovich, explained that she began working as a nanny for Gaiman's then-estranged second wife, Amanda Palmer, in 2022 when Gaiman allegedly assaulted her in a bathtub on his property. After surprising Pavlovich and joining her in a bath, she said, Gaiman made conversation before physically assaulting her and directing her to call him "master." As Pavlovich continued to babysit, she recalled more alleged incidents of forcible oral and anal sex without lubrication — she says at one point she passed out from the pain — as well as being forced to ingest her own waste, all while being called a "slave."

Another woman, named Kendall, recalled Gaiman allegedly forcing himself on top of her and kissing her on a tour bus in 2012. One woman, named Kendra Stout, recalled a relationship with Gaiman that started in 2003 and she claims turned physically torturous, at times beating her or subjecting her to rough sex. Stout explained to the outlet one instance in which she told Gaiman they could not have sex because she had a painful urinary track infection, but he ignored her wishes.

A woman named Caroline began a sexual relationship with Gaiman while living on his property, after her husband moved out of the house. In 2018, when Caroline recalled being in a vulnerable place, Gaiman allegedly reached down her pants. She alleges their encounters continued for two years, including an instance where, while Caroline was reading to his then-4-year-old son in bed, Gaiman climbed in and pulled her hand to his penis, with the boy in between them.

"He didn't have boundaries," she told Vulture. "I remember thinking that there was something really wrong with him."

Eventually, Caroline ended the sexual encounters and was forced to move off Gaiman's property in exchange for signing a 16-page NDA and a payment of $300,000.

Follow trending stories: Sign up for USA TODAY's Everyone's Talking newsletter.

Vulture also spoke to the friends of his second wife, now ex, who claimed the couple had an open relationship. One woman, referred to as pseudonym Rachel, allegedly started a relationship with Palmer before Palmer introduced her to Gaiman. Though she said there was never an outright breach of consent, Rachel told Vulture her experiences with Gaiman involved demands that often frightened her or hurt her.

Gaiman and Palmer divorced in 2022. According to Vulture's report and interviews with her friends, Gaiman's actions seem to have contributed to the divorce, though it appears Palmer also knew about some of these incidents when she asked Pavlovich to babysit for her son.

Pavlovich claims she eventually told Palmer about the incidents, including one in which Pavlovich was raped and made to ingest Gaiman's urine while his child was in the same room, which apparently shocked Palmer and led her to suggest Gaiman get counseling. Vulture reports the writer never attended.

Since last summer, some projects connected to Gaiman have reportedly been paused or trimmed. IndieWire reported in September 2024 that Disney had paused its film adaptation of Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book." And in October, it was reported that the Amazon Prime Video series "Good Omens" would end with a 90-minute TV movie episode, as opposed to a full third season, which Amazon MGM Studios later confirmed to USA TODAY.

Netflix has yet to comment on the future of its TV adaptation of "The Sandman," based on the DC Comic, which would be preparing for its third season.

USA TODAY has reached out to Disney and Netflix for more information.

(This story has been updated to add new information and to correct an inaccuracy.)

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Neil Gaiman accused of sexual assault by 9 women in Vulture report