Neil Gaiman: Three Women Accuse Author of Sexual Assault
Three more women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault and abuse against Neil Gaiman following the initial accusations last month about the author.
In July, Tortoise Media released the four-part podcast Master: the Allegations Against Neil Gaiman that outlined two women’s allegations against him. On Thursday, a fifth episode was published that detailed two more women’s accusations, one of whom allegedly signed a non-disclosure agreement following her experience with Gaiman.
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That woman, Caroline Wallner, was a divorced mother of three who lived and worked at Gaiman’s Woodstock, New York property from 2014 to 2021 while Gaiman taught at Bard College. Wallner’s then-husband also lived and worked at the property until 2017, when their marriage ended, and Gaiman told him there was no more work for him at the Woodstock home.
With no income, Wallner said her work and family’s housing were now dependent on Gaiman. “There were little hints of, ‘we’re going to need the house.’ And I remember saying, let’s talk about it. Let’s figure it out. That’s when he would just come to my studio and make me give him a blowjob,” Wallner told Tortoise. “And he can say it was consensual. But why would I do that? It was because I was scared of losing my place.”
During these incidents, Wallner claims, Gaiman “used to say to me ‘Call me your master. Tell me you want it. Tell me you want it.’ He would choke me sometimes.” Whenever Wallner resisted these advances, Gaiman would insinuate that his then-wife Amanda Palmer wanted to reclaim the home that Wallner and her family was living in. “But you take care of me and I’ll take care of you,” Wallner said Gaiman told her.
Gaiman eventually left the Woodstock property but allegedly continued to send Wallner sexually explicit photos and videos, asking for Wallner to send him ones back. When Wallner stopped responding to Gaiman’s request, the author’s business manager informed her she had to leave the Woodstock property by December 2021.
That same month, Wallner said she and Gaiman agreed to a $275,000 NDA that “disputes and denies that Wallner has sustained any losses, damages, or injuries for which Gaiman is legally responsible.” Despite the NDA, Wallner came forward after hearing Tortoise’s earlier allegations against Gaiman. “The fact they were the same age as my daughters now was painful to hear,” she said.
Julia Hobsbawm, the second woman in Tortoise’s new report, was then-22 years old when allegedly Gaiman made “an aggressive, unwanted pass” on her at her London flat in 1986. Gaiman then allegedly “jumped” on her “out of the blue,” forced his tongue into her mouth, and pushed her onto her couch before she broke free. After that incident, Hobsbawm broke contact with the author.
A third woman, using the pseudonym Claire, spoke out about her experience with Gaiman on a separate podcast titled “Am I Broken: Survivor Stories,” accusing the author of sexual misconduct. In the episode, which was published earlier this week, Claire said she first met Gaiman, whom she was a fan of, at a book signing in 2012. According to Claire, Gaiman then invited her and her friend to the next stop on his book tour, and they proceeded to carry on a 10-month relationship in person, over email, text messaging, and Skype. Claire alleged that on one occasion, after attending an afterparty with Gaiman, she sat on his lap on a car ride back to her hotel, where he allegedly tried to feel up her dress. When they arrived at the hotel lobby, Claire said he continued the unwanted advances and pressed her against the wall, kissed her, and put his tongue in her ear. Claire said at the time, she kissed him back despite feeling “gross,” because “it was Neil Gaiman,” describing the power she said he had over her because of his status.
“He said to me, ‘I’m a very wealthy man, and I’m used to getting what I want,’” Claire recounted on the podcast.
Sometime later, Claire said she sent Gaiman a letter expressing her feelings about her experience. “His response caught me totally off guard,” she said of when they spoke on the phone following the letter. “His apology felt so genuine. He told me he had no idea, and he wished I had told him sooner. He said he was glad that I told him so he could learn.” But Claire added that on the call, Gaiman claimed she kissed him first and blamed his autism diagnosis for not properly picking up her body language and cues.
Claire said she felt content with the call until other women spoke up about their alleged experiences with the author, which made her realize that Gaiman’s behavior was not isolated.
Following Tortoise Media’s initial four-episode podcast, Gaiman denied all the allegations against him and added he was “disturbed” by the accusations. Gaiman did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment regarding Claire’s allegations.
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