CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault, rape, and sexual misconduct.
Singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer has spoken out regarding new allegations of sexual assault against her ex-partner Neil Gaiman.
In a statement shared on her Instagram account on Friday, Palmer — who shares a 10-year-old son with Gaiman — called for privacy, reminding the public that divorce proceedings with the author remain ongoing.
“As there are ongoing custody and divorce proceedings, I am not able to offer public comment,” she said.
“Please understand that I am first and foremost a parent. I ask for privacy at this time.”
The American songwriter married Gaiman in 2011, having met in 2008.
Their divorce was announced in November 2022, around two years prior to the allegations emerging against the author.
In a statement to NME this week, Palmer said she was “profoundly disturbed” by the allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct from a number of women.
“While Ms. Palmer is profoundly disturbed by the allegations that Mr. Gaiman has abused several women, at this time her primary concern is, and must remain, the well-being of her son and therefore, to guard his privacy, she has no comment on these allegations,” a representative for Palmer told the publication.
An explosive New York Magazine report on Monday saw eight women — four of whom previously spoke out against Gaiman last year — detailing instances of alleged assault, coercion, or abuse by the author.
This includes allegations from former employee Scarlett Pavlovich, who was hired by Palmer and Gaiman to babysit their then five year old.
According to the report, Pavlovich first met Gaiman in 2022 when Palmer asked her to babysit their son at their property in Waiheke Island, New Zealand. At this point, Pavlovich had been friends with Palmer for two years, but never met Gaiman.
Among other allegations, Pavlovich claims the author joined her naked in a bath without asking and proceeded to sexually assault her.
She also alleged an incident occurred at a hotel in February 2022 where Gaiman began to have sex with her while his son was in the room on his iPad.
The report claims Pavlovich eventually confided in Palmer about the ongoing sexual interactions, although she withheld some of the most brutal details and did not describe her experience as sexual assault.
“Fourteen women have come to me about this,” Palmer allegedly told Pavlovich, per New York Magazine.
However, at a later instance when she was informed about the child being present in the room, the report described Palmer as “silent” and “shocked”.
“Palmer insisted that Pavlovich spend the night in her guest room. She told her, ‘I’ve had to do this before, and I can do this again. I will take care of you’,” it read.
Gaiman has refuted the allegations, stating “I don’t accept there was any abuse”.
“To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone,” he said in a statement published on his website this week.
“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.
“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.”
A number of projects involving Gaiman’s work have been cancelled, altered, or put on hold since last year, although it is not entirely clear if they are all in connection to the allegations.
The Amazon series Good Omens, of which Gaiman was an executive producer, had its third and final season changed to just a 90-minute episode after he left the production in October.
Meanwhile Disney is believed to have paused production on its film adaptation of another Gaiman title, The Graveyard Book.
Netflix also cancelled Dead Boy Detectives, based on DC comics characters of the same name co-authored by Gaiman, after one season.
However, Netflix series The Sandman is expected to see a season two release later this year.
Lead image: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
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