More Gaiman Allegations
We reported last month on two women who accused author Neil Gaiman of sexual assault. Since then, three more women have come forward with allegations. Two of them spoke on the Tortoise Media podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. Caroline Wallner lived on Gaiman’s property in Woodstock NY from 2014 to 2021, and says that she felt pressured to have sex with him in order to maintain her living situation; she further alleges that when she stopped responding to requests for explicit photos and videos, Gaiman’s business manager told her she had to move out by December 2021. Wallner says Gaiman paid her $275,000 that month in exchange for signing an NDA that ‘‘disputes and denies that Wallner has sustained any losses, damages, or injuries for which Gaiman is legally responsible.’’ Wallner chose to come forward after hearing the earlier allegations.
The second woman on the podcast, Julia Hobsbawm, says Gaiman made ‘‘an aggressive, unwanted pass’’ at her in 1986, when she was 22 and Gaiman was 25, after which she cut off contact.
Two other women reportedly declined to be interviewed for the podcast but provided messages and ‘‘corroborating evidence’’ pointing to a pattern of behavior on Gaiman’s part. Details are here.
The other accuser, using the name Claire, appeared on a different podcast, Am I Broken: Survivor Stories. She claims that she was a fan of Gaiman and met him at a book event in 2012, subsequently entering into a ten-month in-person and long-distance relationship that allegedly included unwanted interactions such as a kiss, groping, phone sex, and pressure to have sex. She described feeling ‘‘gross’’ but going along with the kiss because ‘‘it was Neil Gaiman.’’ She claims Gaiman said, ‘‘I’m a very wealthy man, and I’m used to getting what I want.’’ She also said Gaiman claimed she initiated the contact, and that he blamed his autism for failing to properly read her body language. The podcast is here.
Gaiman has declined to comment publicly on the allegations.
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