Neil Gaiman's Ex-Wife Amanda Palmer on Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking Claims: 'I Deny the Allegations'
Amanda Palmer is speaking out on accusations against her and her ex-husband, Neil Gaiman.
Gaiman, who's written Coraline, The Sandman and several other works that have been developed into films and TV shows, was sued on Monday for sexual assault, human trafficking and battery by Scarlett Pavlovich, his former nanny, who lived with his family, including their son. While working as the family's nanny, Pavlovich alleges Gaiman assaulted her multiple times. And Pavlovich claims she told Palmer, who she says was not shocked and allegedly knew of past incidents of abuse.
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On Friday, Palmer took to Instagram to address the allegations in a written post: 'I thank you all for continuing to respect my recent request for privacy as I navigate this extremely difficult moment. I must protect my young child and his right to privacy.'
Palmer continued: 'With that as my priority, I will not respond to the specific allegations being made against me except to say that I deny the allegations and will respond in due course. My heart goes out to all survivors.'
The assaults allegedly started in 2022, according to the lawsuit, with Palmer asking Pavlovich to babysit, which turned into Gaiman telling her to take a bath — and then he joined. 'Gaiman then penetrated Scarlett's rectum with his fingers,' and though she objected, he 'attempted to penetrate Scarlett's rectum with his penis,' the lawsuit states. She claims he also anally raped and choked her.
According to the lawsuit, 'Palmer told Scarlett — for the first time — more than a dozen women, including several former employees, had previously come to Palmer about abusive sexual encounters with Gaiman.'
Last month, after New York magazine published a cover story in which numerous women alleged he sexually assaulted them and engaged in sexual misconduct, Gaiman addressed the accusations, saying the sexual encounters were consensual. 'Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality,' he wrote in a blog post. 'I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I'm not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can't accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn't do.'
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