The author does not recognize himself in the allegations and wants to earn back people’s trust.
After months of silence, author Neil Gaiman has spoken out about serious allegations against him. He denies any missteps.
Author breaks his silence
The fantasy writer wrote a text on his blog with the title “Breaking The Silence”in which he deals with the allegations. Five women, including a former babysitter and a fan, accused him of sexual abuse last summer. Neil Gaiman had left these stories uncommented – until now. “Over the last few months I have followed the stories about me on the Internet with horror and dismay,” it now says on his page. “Up until now I have remained silent, both out of respect for the people who have shared their stories and out of a desire not to draw more attention to a lot of misinformation.” Now the moment has come for him, contrary to what was supposed to be Beliefs about talking about private matters online.
“Never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity”
“In this latest collection of reports there are moments that I half recognize and moments that I don’t, descriptions of things that happened alongside things that explicitly didn’t happen,” differentiates Neil Gaiman. “I am far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Never.” The author describes how he read his messages again with the women affected. His view: “At the time I was in these relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides.” Principle: “Two people who had a completely consensual sexual relationship and wanted to see each other again.” Around an abusive image To create it, true experiences were distorted or new, terrible stories were invented.
Neil Gaiman wants trust back
However, Neil Gaiman reflects on one criticism in his text: “I was emotionally unavailable while I was sexually available, I was self-centered and not as considerate as I could or should have been. “I’ve obviously been careless of other people’s hearts and feelings, and I really regret that.” He has spent the past few months trying to understand this. In the future, he wants to continue to grow, also with the help of other people, and earn back the trust of his family and his readers. He concludes: “I am ready to take responsibility for any missteps. I am not willing to turn my back on the truth and I cannot accept being called someone I am not and I cannot and will not admit that I have done things that I have not done. “
Film industry draws conclusions
The allegations recently led to cuts in Neil Gaiman’s work: several film projects changed course. The planned third season of “Good Omens” was shortened into a single 90-minute episode – although the book adaptation, which was actually completed, was extended because of its success. In addition, Disney+ put the film adaptation of “The Graveyard Book” on hold. Only the second season of “Sandman” is scheduled to go ahead as planned and premiere on Netflix this year.