CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses sexual assault, sexual abuse, and rape.
Author Neil Gaiman has fired back at a civil lawsuit accusing him of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking, asking a US district court to dismiss the case and claiming he has WhatsApp messages that allegedly refute the allegations.
The lawsuit was filed in early February by Gaiman and ex-partner Amanda Palmer‘s former nanny Scarlett Pavlovich. It outlined allegations of rape, coercion, assault, and sexual abuse by Gaiman, and also named Palmer for allegedly “procuring” Pavlovich for him and failing to warn her about his history of alleged sexual misconduct.
As reported by The Guardian on Thursday, Gaiman has denied the alarming claims and filed a motion to dismiss the case. He further argued the case should be heard in New Zealand — where the alleged abuse took place — rather than in the US.
In an accompanying statement, the author also described Pavlovich as a “fantasist”.
“None of Pavlovich’s claims are true. She is a fantasist who has fabricated a tale of abuse against me and Ms. Palmer,” he stated.
He pointed to a number of WhatsApp messages exchanged between himself and Pavlovich, which were compiled in a package alongside the motion to dismiss.
These messages “demonstrate, in Pavlovich’s own words, that our relationship was consensual, and that Pavlovich was an enthusiastic participant who initiated many of our sexual encounters,” Gaiman said.
In the lawsuit, Pavlovich claims the abuse began shortly after she commenced working for Gaiman and his then-wife Palmer in February 2022, when the author joined her naked in a bath without asking and proceeded to sexually assault her.
Among other startling claims, she also shared a separate incident at a hotel, alleging Gaiman began to have sex with her while his son was in the room on his iPad.
Her nearly 30-page complaint alleges Gaiman has a “decades-long history of sexual misconduct” and describes a number of alleged manipulations and assaults, including a 2022 sodomy rape of “slave” by Gaiman, as reported by Deadline.
However, in a brief in support of a motion to dismiss, Gaiman’s lawyers remarked Pavlovich’s claims are a “sham” and the WhatsApp messages demonstrate the consensual nature of their sexual interactions.
“The sexual scenarios she describes deliberately in graphic detail are invented. Any sexual conduct that occurred was in all ways consensual,” the brief stated, per Deadline.
“Law enforcement authorities in New Zealand thoroughly investigated the same claims Plaintiff makes here, found no merit, and declined to file any charges against Gaiman. There was no credible evidence of wrongdoing.”
As reported by Variety, in one message to Gaiman in February 2022, Pavlovich wrote, “Thank you for a lovely lovely night – wow x.”
In another message two days later, she allegedly wrote: “Let me know If you want me to run a bath… I am consumed by thoughts of you.”
According to the alleged messages, Gaiman also confronted her after hearing that she had accused him of rape, to which Pavlovich wrote she “never said that” and was “horrified”, the publication reported.
Last year, Pavlovich said that the messages “are really hard for me to go through because of, you know, my delusion. I’m so furious with myself” in an episode of the Tortoise podcast. She also raised the allegations in a New York Magazine feature story in January this year.
At least seven other women have also come forward since mid-2024, alleging assault, coercion, or abuse by the Coraline and American Gods author.
Meanwhile, Gaiman’s ex-partner Palmer has taken to Instagram to address the lawsuit, stating she “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,” Palmer said.
The American songwriter shares a 10-year-old son with Gaiman. Their divorce was announced in November 2022, around two years prior to the allegations emerging against the author.
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