In the final weeks of filming for season two of Netflix’s The Sandman, an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman’s dark comic book of the same name, a bombshell dropped. In the Tortoise Media podcast series Master, Gaiman – one of the most acclaimed, and formerly beloved, fiction writers of recent decades – was accused of sexual assault and abuse by five women.
Taking its title from the name that Gaiman would reportedly ask women to call him, the seven-episode series detailed numerous violent and graphic allegations against the author, which he claims took place within consensual BDSM relationships. In January, an additional four women accused Gaiman of sexual misconduct in a piece for New York magazine titled “There Is No Safe Word”. Gaiman’s accusers describe a consistent pattern of grooming, assault, coercion and non-consensual BDSM, also alleging that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) were used to silence them. Gaiman has vehemently denied all claims of abuse.
