A New Zealand woman filed a lawsuit on Monday against Neil Gaiman, the best-selling British author, and Amanda Palmer, his estranged wife, accusing Mr. Gaiman of repeated sexual abuse and Ms. Palmer of “procuring and presenting” the victim and intending to leave her “trapped, vulnerable and penniless.”
Scarlett Pavlovich, who is from New Zealand but now lives in Scotland, claims in the suit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, New York and Wisconsin, that Mr. Gaiman raped and assaulted her repeatedly while she was working as a nanny and babysitting the couple’s son.
As a result, Ms. Pavlovich “suffered severe emotional distress, physical injuries and economic losses,” the lawsuit said. She also claimed she was not paid adequately for her work for the couple.
Many disturbing details of the allegations against Mr. Gaiman came to light in an explosive New York Magazine article last month, as well as in a podcast last summer, in which Ms. Pavlovich identified herself as an accuser of Mr. Gaiman’s. Four other women had spoken out about Mr. Gaiman’s abuse in a podcast last summer.
Mr. Gaiman denied the allegations in a statement last month, saying: “I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.” Representatives for Mr. Gaiman and Ms. Palmer did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Ms. Pavlovich first met Ms. Palmer in New Zealand in 2020, when Ms. Pavlovich was 22 years old and homeless, often sleeping on the beach, according to the lawsuit. After Ms. Pavlovich and Ms. Palmer became acquaintances, Ms. Pavlovich started running errands for Ms. Palmer and Mr. Gaiman, sometimes babysitting their son.
Ms. Pavlovich was also dealing with mental health issues and had discussed them with Ms. Palmer, according to the suit.
Ms. Palmer “was clearly aware of the danger that Gaiman posed,” the lawsuit said.
In February 2022, the lawsuit said, Ms. Palmer asked Ms. Pavlovich to babysit for the weekend, splitting time between Mr. Gaiman’s and Ms. Palmer’s separate houses.
On Feb. 4, 2022, Ms. Pavlovich arrived at Mr. Gaiman’s house for the afternoon and looked after the child for about an hour before Mr. Gaiman took the boy to a friend’s house, changing the course of the night, according to the lawsuit. After having dinner with Ms. Pavlovich, Mr. Gaiman urged her to take a bath while he made a phone call, the suit said.
But Mr. Gaiman, who was 61 at the time, returned to the bath — unannounced and naked — and assaulted and raped Ms. Pavlovich, according to the suit. There had been no work call, the suit said.
Ms. Pavlovich objected and told Mr. Gaiman “no” as he proceeded to assault her, the lawsuit said.
Ms. Pavlovich filed a police report accusing Mr. Gaiman of the assault, according to the lawsuit. She said on a podcast last year that the police told her there was not enough evidence to pursue a case.
After the weekend, Ms. Palmer offered Ms. Pavlovich a job as a live-in nanny, with promises that she would be paid and that Mr. Gaiman would help promote Ms. Pavlovich’s writing career, according to the lawsuit. The couple did not pay her, and throughout her employment, Mr. Gaiman continued to sexually assault her, the lawsuit said.
“She was, in effect, an economic hostage to Palmer and Gaiman,” the suit said. The suit also said that Mr. Gaiman told Ms. Pavlovich to call him “master” and that he frequently referred to her as his “slave.”
The suit also claims that Mr. Gaiman knew Ms. Pavlovich was not consenting to their sexual encounters and that during one assault, Ms. Pavlovich “screamed ‘I can’t’ and ‘no’ at the start of the encounter.”
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