Neil Gaiman denies sexual assault allegations: "I don't accept there was any abuse"

Novelist Neil Gaiman has publicly denied allegations of raping and sexually abusing several women, although he acknowledged he "should have done so much better."

The 64-year-old writer was initially accused by five women of sexual assault in July, which led to the cancellation of Amazon's Good Omens third season.

Since then, more women have come forward with disturbing accounts of their interactions with the American Gods author, as reported by New York Magazine.

With these stories circulating online, Gaiman felt compelled to address the accusations.

"Over the past many months, I have watched the stories circulating the Internet about me with horror and dismay," he wrote on his website.

"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."

He continued, "I've always tried to be a private person, and felt increasingly that social media was the wrong place to talk about important personal matters."

"Now, I've reached the point where I feel that I should say something," Gaiman explained.

He stated that after reviewing his accusers' stories, he recognized certain parts but also noted significant discrepancies.

He also revisited messages with one accuser and said they seemed to reflect a mutually consensual relationship at the time.

"These messages read now as they did when I received them - of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again," he explained. "At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides."

Looking back, Gaiman admitted, "And I also realize, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better."

"I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could have or should have been," he confessed.

"I was obviously careless with people's hearts and feelings, and that's something that I really, deeply regret. It was selfish of me."

"I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other people's."

He expressed his commitment to improving himself.

"Like most of us, I'm learning and I'm trying to do the work needed, and I know that that's not an overnight process."

Despite this, he firmly stated, "I don't accept there was any abuse."

"To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone."

"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," he claimed.

"I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made," Gaiman concluded. 

One of the accusers has alleged that he raped her in an outdoor bathtub while she was caring for his son with ex-wife Amanda Palmer, 48, on February 4, 2022.