Multiple women have publicly alleged sexual misconduct by Neil Gaiman in reporting that began in 2024. Gaiman denies engaging in non-consensual sexual activity. The US civil cases brought by Scarlett Pavlovich were dismissed or withdrawn on procedural grounds; the rulings described here did not determine whether the allegations were true.
What has been alleged in public reporting?
Tortoise Media reported allegations against Gaiman in a podcast series in 2024. In January 2025, New York Magazine published an investigation describing accounts from eight women, a figure the Associated Press also reported. That number refers to the accounts in that particular investigation; it is not an established, current total of people who have made allegations.
The accounts are allegations, not findings by a court. They should be understood as claims attributed to the women who made them and to the reporting that presented them.
What did Scarlett Pavlovich allege?
In civil pleadings, Scarlett Pavlovich alleged that Gaiman sexually assaulted her in New Zealand in 2022, while she was working as a nanny for Gaiman and his family. Those statements are allegations in legal filings, not facts established by a court.
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The Associated Press reported that Gaiman’s attorneys described the relationship as involving consensual physical intimacy. His attorneys also argued that New Zealand police had found the allegations meritless. That characterization was the defense’s position as reported by AP; the sources cited here do not independently establish a police finding.
How has Gaiman responded?
In a public statement reported by the Associated Press in January 2025, Gaiman said: “I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.”
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In February 2026, The Guardian reported that Gaiman called the allegations “simply untrue” and described them as a “smear campaign.” Those are his characterizations of the claims, not court findings.
What happened in Pavlovich’s US civil cases?
The cases and claims had different procedural outcomes. A withdrawal or a dismissal on forum grounds is not a judicial decision that an allegation is true or false.
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| Case or claim | Outcome | Stated procedural basis | Did the court decide whether the allegations were true? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York case against Amanda Palmer | Pavlovich withdrew the case. | Not stated in the cited AP account. | No truth determination is reported. |
| Wisconsin claims involving Amanda Palmer | Pavlovich dropped the portion of the suit involving Palmer. | Not stated in the cited AP account. | No truth determination is reported. |
| Wisconsin case against Gaiman | The district court dismissed the case in October 2025; the Seventh Circuit affirmed on June 29, 2026. | The courts concluded that New Zealand was the more convenient forum. The appellate affirmance was under forum non conveniens and was without prejudice. | No. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the forum decision, not a finding about the allegations. |
| Massachusetts filing | Dismissed. | AP reported that it was dismissed on similar forum grounds. | No truth determination is reported. |
The Associated Press reported on February 9, 2026, that three lawsuits had been dismissed or withdrawn, while also describing the separate outcomes above. The Seventh Circuit later ruled on the Wisconsin dismissal. The distinctions matter: withdrawing or dropping a claim is not the same as a court dismissing it, and neither alone establishes that an allegation was false.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the June 2026 appellate ruling mean?
On June 29, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal without prejudice of Pavlovich’s Wisconsin action because New Zealand was the more convenient forum. The court wrote, “We find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s decision.”
The ruling addressed where the case could proceed, not whether the alleged conduct occurred. The Wisconsin district court had made that limit explicit: “Gaiman denies Pavlovich’s allegations, but the issue before the court is not whether Pavlovich’s allegations are true.”
“Without prejudice” means the dismissal was not a decision on the merits of the allegations. The appellate ruling resolved the appeal over the forum decision; it should not be described as clearing Gaiman or as proving Pavlovich’s allegations.
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What is established—and what is not?
- Multiple women made allegations in public reporting beginning in 2024; the January 2025 New York Magazine investigation described accounts from eight women.
- Gaiman has denied engaging in non-consensual sexual activity and later called the allegations untrue and a smear campaign.
- Pavlovich’s filings alleged sexual assault while she worked as a nanny in New Zealand in 2022.
- The US case outcomes described here were withdrawals, dropped claims, or dismissals on forum grounds—not findings about the truth of the allegations.
- The Seventh Circuit’s June 29, 2026 decision affirmed the Wisconsin dismissal without prejudice because New Zealand was the more convenient forum.
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