A file image of Neil Gaiman
| Photo Credit: AP
A woman from New Zealand has filed three civil lawsuits against best-selling British author Neil Gaiman and his wife, accusing Gaiman of repeatedly sexually assaulting her while she was working as the couple’s babysitter and nanny.
The victim filed the lawsuits in federal court in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York on Monday (February 3, 2025).
The victim identified herself in an interview with New York Magazine, which published an article in January detailing allegations of assault, abuse and coercion levelled by eight women.
She alleges in the lawsuits that she was homeless and living on a beach when she met Palmer in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2020. She was 22 years old at the time.
According to the lawsuits, Mr. Gaiman’s wife, Amanda Palmer, invited the victim to the couple’s home on Waiheke Island. The later began running errands for the couple, babysitting their son and helping with chores, eventually becoming the couple’s nanny.
Mr. Gaiman first sexually assaulted her the night they met in February 2022, according to the lawsuit. The assaults continued but she kept working for the couple because she was broke and homeless and Mr. Gaiman had told her he would help her writing career, according to the lawsuits.
When she told Ms. Palmer about the assaults, Ms. Palmer told her that more than a dozen women had told her in the past that Mr. Gaiman had sexually abused them, according to the lawsuits.
The assaults didn’t stop until the victim told Ms. Palmer she was going to kill herself, the lawsuits said. She left the family and became homeless again, although the documents say Mr. Gaiman eventually paid her for her work caring for the couple’s child and helped cover her rent for a few months.
Ms. Palmer knew of Mr. Gaiman’s sexual desires and presented the victim to him knowing he would assault her, according to the lawsuits. The victim alleges Mr. Gaiman and Ms. Palmer violated federal human trafficking prohibitions and seeks at least $7 million in damages.
After the New York Magazine article was published, Mr. Gaiman released a statement in January denying he had ever engaged in non-consensual sex. The allegations of four of the women were previously broadcast in July in a Tortoise Media podcast.
“I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever,” Mr. Gaiman posted on the social media platform Tumblr.
Representatives for Mr. Gaiman and Ms. Palmer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday (February 3, 2025) and online court records did not list attorneys representing them in the suits.
The victim’s attorneys stated in the filings that Mr. Gaiman, author of such bestsellers as “Coraline” and “The Sandman” series, is a resident of Menomonie, Wisconsin. But they’re unsure if Palmer resides in Massachusetts or New York.
She told New York Magazine that she filed a police report in January 2023 accusing Mr. Gaiman of sexual assault. Police have not confirmed whether Mr. Gaiman was ever under investigation.
Mr. Gaiman has worked with numerous publishers over the years. Two of them, HarperCollins and W W Norton, have said they have no plans to release his books in the future. Others, including Bloomsbury, have so far declined comment.
Dark Horse Comics announced in January that it would no longer release its illustrated series based on Mr. Gaiman’s novel, “Anansi Boys.” The seventh of eight editions was released earlier that month.
Disney has paused a planned adaptation of Mr. Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” while Netflix is still scheduled to release a second season based on “The Sandman.”
Published – February 04, 2025 01:00 pm IST
