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 β 'Kia ora Rachel! Scarlett accused horror and fantasy fiction writer Gaiman β who in public is a MeToo advocate, feminist 'ally' and trans activist β 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.
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. 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 , 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. Neil Gaiman's babysitter Scarlett says he got into a bath with her uninvited and groped her. He was 61 she was After Scarlett's email, Rachel Johnson set off on a 'draining, disturbing eight-month investigation'.
Yet when we approached him, he went schtum, only communicating through his team of lawyers and crisis managers which includes Andrew Brettler, the legal eagle hired by Prince Andrew and Johnny Depp to deny all the allegations against him and insist that all sexual activity with the women was consensual. Now, however, the story has re-emerged with allegations that are even more terrible detail.
And at last Gaiman has given us a response. The cover of the magazine is a brooding portrait of the dishevelled Gaiman, with the cover line Call Me Master β of which more later. The magazine piece goes back to four of the five women we interviewed for Master, and Shapiro also speaks to four more, including one who calls herself 'Brenda'.
