I got a breezy message from author Neil Gaiman's babysitter - then a trail of horror unfolded. The sordid things women told me he did to them are profoundly disturbing - and now one elite group's deafening silence says it all: RACHEL JOHNSON
Share:
SOME stories take time. It's been over a year since author Neil Gaiman's babysitter, Scarlett, then 22, contacted me via Instagram. Her breezy introduction – 'Kia ora Rachel!', the Maori greeting – set me off on a draining, disturbing eight-month investigation, during which I would hear not only Scarlett's terrible story, but those of four other women who had, to say the least, complicated and - they claim - abusive relationships with one of the world's most successful authors.
![[After Scarlett's email, Rachel Johnson set off on a 'draining, disturbing eight-month investigation']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/22/94182569-14293521-After_Scarlett_s_email_Rachel_Johnson_set_off_on_a_draining_dist-a-4_1737067597816.jpg)
Scarlett accused horror and fantasy fiction writer Gaiman – who in public is a #MeToo advocate, feminist 'ally' and trans activist – of sexually assaulting her in a bath in the garden at his home in New Zealand within hours of meeting her, while the other women also alleged varying degrees of sexual assault.
![[Neil Gaiman and his wife Amanda Palmer attend the Matilda musical in 2013. She says they are now getting divorced]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/22/94182565-14293521-Neil_Gaiman_and_his_wife_Amanda_Palmer_attend_the_Matilda_musica-a-5_1737067597817.jpg)
The resulting podcast, Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman, which I co-presented with the investigative journalist Paul Caruana Galizia, came out in July last year as a six-part series by Tortoise Media. In its wake, Gaiman's film and TV projects were either paused or cancelled by Disney, Amazon and Netflix, and the story's dark, upsetting details and implications were debated and pored over on fan and feminist forums online.
![[The outdoor bathtub at The Sandman author's home, where Scarlett says the first assault took place]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/18/94182567-14293521-image-a-56_1737053610127.jpg)
Yet Gaiman, who has sold more than 50 million books worldwide, appeared on Time Magazine's list of the world's most influential people in 2023, and was once called 'the most loved living writer', kept his silence. This is the man who used to invite fans to write to him on X or via his blog. Who frequently answered their letters, often leading to meetings at book signings.
Share:
More for You
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
