Neil Gaiman’s former live-in nanny, Scarlett Pavlovich, filed a civil lawsuit on Monday in Wisconsin federal court accusing the bestselling author of sexual abuse, assault, rape, and coercion. The complaint also accused both Gaiman and his estranged wife, Amanda Palmer, of human trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The lawsuit comes less than a month after the publication of a January 13 New York magazine cover story in which eight women, including Pavlovich, accused the author of sexual assault and misconduct.
The lawsuit alleges that, starting in 2022, the author coerced Pavlovich into forced sexual encounters with him as a condition of her employment as a nanny to Gaiman and Palmer’s son, claiming that the couple intentionally withheld the then 24-year-old woman’s pay to keep her “trapped” as an “economic hostage.” The complaint details multiple instances of rape and sexual abuse across several months. Gaiman has maintained that the sexual encounters were consensual. Pavlovich is seeking at least $1 million in damages and a jury trial.
Most of Gaiman’s publishers responded to the allegations detailed by New York magazine last month by cutting ties with or otherwise distancing themselves from the author. W.W. Norton and Dark Horse both announced that they would no longer publish Gaiman’s works, with the latter canceling Gaiman’s Anansi Boys comic series and collected volume. HarperCollins, Gaiman’s primary U.S. publisher, and Marvel said that they have no new books by Gaiman scheduled. DC Comics did not respond to comment by press time, but the publisher has canceled orders for a reissue of Gaiman’s Sandman #8, originally due out later this month. It is unclear if DC still plans to go ahead with the scheduled September release of Gaiman’s Death as part of its Compact Comics line, or to work with the author on future new or archival projects.
Gaiman’s representation has been slower to respond. Gaiman’s literary agent, Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House, did not respond to requests for comment by press time, nor did his public speaking agent, Steven Barclay of the eponymous agency, leaving it unclear as to whether either has dropped him as a client. Earlier this week, Deadline reported that Gaiman had been removed from the client list of his U.K. agent, Casarotto Ramsay.