Neil Gaiman is calling his accuser a “fantasist.” The author recently responded to allegations of sexual abuse made by his former babysitter with WhatsApp messages that he believes will clear his name.
Both Gaiman and his estranged wife, Amanda Palmer, were sued in federal court after the former couple’s babysitter, Scarlett Pavlovich, claimed The Sandman author raped her during her time of employment with the family. Pavlovich also alleged Palmer trafficked her while she worked as a babysitter.
“None of Pavlovich’s claims are true,” Gaiman shared in a court declaration. “She is a fantasist who has fabricated a tale of abuse against me and Ms. Palmer,” the author shared.
Gaiman also produced messages meant to establish his relationship with Pavlovich as consensual. In one message from February 2022, Pavlovich allegedly thanked her employer for a “lovely night” after an evening of intimacy. Pavlovich appeared to deny allegations of Gaiman raping her outright in another communication thread.
“Oh my God. Neil! I never said that,” the babysitter wrote to her employer after he reportedly confronted her about her alleged plans to “Me Too” him. “I’m horrified by your message – me too you? Rape? WHAT? This is the first I have heard of this,” Pavlovich allegedly wrote.
“I need a moment to digest your message,” she continued. “I have never used the word rape, I’m just so shocked, I honestly don’t know what to say.”
Scarlett Pavlovich is one of at least two women to accuse Neil Gaiman of sexual assault. Another woman who goes by the name of K accused the author of assaulting her 20 years ago “amid an otherwise consensual relationship.” K met Gaiman at a book signing in 2003.
Disney halted a feature adaptation of The Graveyard Book back in September when allegations of sexual abuse against the book’s author began to pick up steam. Gaiman’s lawyers have since filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit, which was filed against him in the U.S. District Court in Wisconsin, under the grounds of the U.S. courts having no jurisdiction over allegations arising in New Zealand.