Neil Gaiman: Production tied to Neil Gaiman halted amid sex assault claims
The production of a movie based on a book by noted British author Neil Gaiman has been paused by Disney amid allegations that five women have made against him relating to conduct from 1986 to 2022, including one woman who said Gaiman groped her on a tour bus in 2013 and later paid her $60,000.
The women shared their allegations, which included claims of sexual assault, groping and kissing, on the podcast “Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman.” Gaiman has told the podcast he denies any wrongdoing.
The allegations played a role in pausing the production of “The Graveyard Book,” an adaptation of the eponymous young adult novel by Gaiman, according to a person at Disney. But the claims were not the sole reason and Disney would not provide any additional reasons.
Another production related to Gaiman has been cancelled for unspecified reasons. “Dead Boy Detectives,” a TV series based on a comic book by Gaiman, will not return for a second season, according to Netflix, which declined to share the reason. Amazon would not say whether there would be any changes to “Good Omens,” a series based on a novel by Gaiman.
The turmoil around the productions linked to the author has come amid the launch of the podcast, which in July and Aug released six episodes that detail the women’s accounts. There are no publicly known lawsuits or open police investigations related to claims against Gaiman.
The allegations surfaced in early July when Scarlett and K. became the first two women to share their experiences on the podcast. Scarlett told the podcast that she had made a sexual assault report against Gaiman to police in New Zealand after the two had met in 2022. The most recent woman to come forward on “Master” claims Gaiman had groped her and kissed her in the back of a tour bus in Nashville in 2013.
