Neil Gaiman’s ex Amanda Palmer denies nanny’s rape and coercion claims
READ MORE: Claims Palmer ‘slept with female fan she gave to Gaiman like a toy’
Amanda Palmer, the estranged wife of fantasy author Neil Gaiman, has denied allegations of negligence made by a woman who worked for them.
In a lawsuit filed in the US states of Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York on Monday, Scarlett Pavlovich claimed Palmer befriended her in New Zealand when she was 22 and homeless, and this led to her working for the couple.
According to the lawsuits, the woman claims Gaiman sexually assaulted her and alleged Palmer had told her about previous complaints from more than a dozen different women.
Best-selling British author Gaiman, 64, denied allegations in January of sexual assault made against him by eight women, which first emerged in reporting by Tortoise Media last summer.
Pavlovich identified herself as an alleged victim of sexual assault in an interview with New York Magazine last month, one of eight women to have claimed to have been a victim of assault, abuse and coercion by Gaiman.
She is seeking at least $7million (£5.6million) in damages from the author, whose career spans more than four decades, and Palmer, whom she alleges was privy to the writer’s sexual desires and presented her to him knowing he would assault her.
Palmer made a short post on Instagram to her 238,000 followers on Friday night in which she explicitly denied the allegations but declined to comment further.
She branded the episode an ‘extremely difficult moment’, and asked for privacy for her eight-year-old son Anthony, also known as Ash, who she had with Gaiman in 2015.
Amanda Palmer has denied allegations of coercion after a former nanny claimed she had been raped by the singer’s husband, Neil Gaiman
Scarlett Pavlovich has filed lawsuits in three US states against the couple seeking $7million in damages
Gaiman and Palmer separated in 2022. The pair have an eight-year-old son together
On Instagram, The Dresden Dolls member Palmer wrote: ‘I thank you all deeply for continuing to respect my recent request for privacy as I navigate this extremely difficult moment.
‘I must protect my young child and his right to privacy.
‘With that as my priority, I 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.’
Read More Sci-fi author Neil Gaiman sued for rape and human trafficking by former live-in nanny in new lawsuit
She added: ‘My heart goes out to all survivors.’
The lawsuits allege the couple violated laws on federal human trafficking, with complaints of assault, battery and inflicting emotional distress against Gaiman and negligence against 48-year-old Palmer.
Palmer has previously written on Instagram that she is in a custody and divorce battle with Gaiman, and was unable to ‘offer public comment’.
She added: ‘Please understand that I am first and foremost a parent.’
Since eight allegations were made against Gaiman in New York Magazine in January, his publisher Dark Horse Comics cancelled another comic book of the Anansi Boys series.
A UK stage adaptation of his book Coraline has been scrapped, and the estate of English author Sir Terry Pratchett removed him from a project funding proposal for a Good Omens comic book based on the book he wrote with the Discworld author.
Last month, Netflix said that a TV series of Gaiman’s dark fantasy work The Sandman, starring British actor Tom Sturridge, will end with its second series later this year.
Dresden Dolls member Palmer made a short post on Instagram (above) denying Pavlovich’s claims on Friday
Allegations about Gaiman have led to the effective cancellation of series three of Good Omens (pictured) – with the season replaced by a 90-minute feature length finale
A stage adaptation of Gaiman’s book Coraline, which has also been made into a feature film (pictured), has also been scrapped
Season three of Good Omens – starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen – has been reduced to a feature-length episode that will wrap the series up for good. Producers Amazon say Gaiman is not involved in its production.
A film of The Graveyard Book has also been shelved.
In January 2023, a police report was made in New Zealand, accusing Gaiman of sexual assault. The investigation was later dropped.
Read More Neil Gaiman’s ex-wife Amanda Palmer breaks silence on ‘rape scandal’ and the ‘disturbing’ accusations ‘that happened during her marriage’
But the traumatic accounts of five women alleging rape and sexual abuse were published by Tortoise Media in July.
In a blog post, Gaiman said he had read the allegations, which he denies, with ‘horror and dismay’ and said he was ‘not as thoughtful as I could or should have been’ and he is still ‘learning’.
He wrote: ‘I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.
‘As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen.
‘I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.’
Palmer founded The Dresden Dolls with Brian Viglione in 2000 and was part of the singing duo Evelyn Evelyn with Jason Webley.
The singer-songwriter tied the knot with Gaiman in 2011 and they announced the birth of their son in 2015.
In a shared statement with Gaiman they revealed they were getting divorced in 2022, saying: ‘After many years of marriage, we have made the difficult decision to divorce.
‘While we will no longer be partners in marriage, we will remain in one another’s lives as co-parents committed to raising our wonderful son in a loving and compassionate environment.
‘We deeply appreciate everyone respecting our family’s privacy so we can focus on our son as we enter this new chapter in our lives.’