# Neil Gaiman accused of being serial sexual abuser **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781 "2024-07-05T19:48:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/121 "2024-07-21T00:48:47Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Moore and Morrison aren’t that strongly connected to any single title Alan Moore is the writer of The Watchmen. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/122 "2024-07-21T00:54:52Z")
Galactus wrote: > Alan Moore is the writer of The Watchmen. And SWAMP THING, V FOR VENDETTA, and LOEG, for which he is equally famous. I’d say there’s a drop-off between Gaiman’s SANDMAN and whatever his second-most popular series is. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/123 "2024-07-21T01:01:11Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > And SWAMP THING, V FOR VENDETTA, and LOEG, Only comics fans would be aware of the others. Watchmen is widely known. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/124 "2024-07-21T01:04:55Z")
Galactus wrote: > Only comics fans would be aware of the others. Watchmen is widely known. I only listed the Moore titles that had movie adaptations. They’re not exactly obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/125 "2024-07-21T02:42:49Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Only comics fans would be aware of the others. Watchmen is widely known. As a non-comics-fan, I can confirm this, though only with a sample size of 1. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/126 "2024-07-21T03:20:32Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > They’re not exactly obscure. But, only comics fans would know Alan Moore was the creator. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/127 "2024-07-21T05:30:40Z")
Neil Gaiman fans know who Neil Gaiman is, with the same intensity as Billie Eilish fans or Megan thee Stallion fans and their objects of adoration. Gaiman may have a tiny slice of the celebrity adulation pie, but the people who know him REALLY know him, in a way that Roy Thomas or Gerry Conway’s fans no longer do. I can’t think of a bigger swaggering rock star in the comics community (although Frank Cho’s taste in girlfriends has spiked a LOT in the last few years). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/128 "2024-07-21T05:39:14Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Other than that description, why do you think he’s a disguised Gaiman? Yeah, I mean, there are thousands of them, and Gaiman is not primarily known for that. > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > No other figure in comic book culture resembles that HOUSE character as strongly as Neil Gaiman. I am sure lots of imaginary made up writers do. Thinking this may be based upon a real person is a stretch all by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/129 "2024-07-21T08:25:06Z")
Frank Miller maybe. Looks like of the three Miller is the only regular convention attendee. Alan Moore would rather be eaten by his snake god then do a convention. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/130 "2024-07-21T12:21:00Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > just watched it again on Peacock. “He’s the creator of Stiletto, the comic and the TV show. He’s a god!” They never said “artist,” but they never said “writer” either, I suppose. But in circa 2010, when this episode ran, there were exactly three comics creators who got this kind of rock star buzz: Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Grant Morrison. Could you kludge Joss Whedon in there? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/131 "2024-07-21T13:05:17Z")
J. Michael Straczinski - creator of TV shows and movies, and comics writer ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/132 "2024-07-21T15:53:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > > > There was an episode of HOUSE where the patient, an underage teenager, claims to have been abused by someone who was clearly a cut-out of Neil Gaiman > > I doubt that. > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > The Cosby stuff grew over time. He long had a reputation as a ‘horn-dog > > Yeah, that was known. But it was thought it was all consensual. The Hannibal Buress bit that went viral and started the prosecution ball rolling happened in 2014. The first accusation that got police involvement was 10 years prior to that. The information was out in the public for a while. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/133 "2024-07-21T16:00:27Z")
In 2010 if you’d asked me who Alan Moore was I’d have said “the Watchmen guy” and no followup. If you’d asked about Gaiman I’d have said “Good Omens, American Gods and Neverwhere”, probably not even thought about “Sandman” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/134 "2024-07-22T02:55:41Z")
He also wrote a _terrific_ [Sherlock Holmes/H.P. Lovecraft mashup.](https://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) I really hope these accusations are shown to be groundless. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/135 "2024-07-22T08:47:49Z")
Andy\_L wrote: > J. Michael Straczinski - creator of TV shows and movies, and comics writer I’m not in touch with what comic book girls find attractive, but my hunch is that Straczynski ranks somewhat lower than Neil Gaiman, yet slightly higher than Peter David. No cite for this, just my guess. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/136 "2024-07-22T20:57:01Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He also wrote a _terrific_ [Sherlock Holmes/H.P. Lovecraft mashup.](https://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) > > I really hope these accusations are shown to be groundless. I dont think they are _groundless_- he certainly slept around, but I hope and think the acts were consensual. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/137 "2024-07-22T21:11:38Z")
Yes. It’s one of my favorite stories. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/138 "2024-07-22T21:53:03Z")
“Sleeping around” is not the content of the accusations. He was literally in an open marriage, and, even if he weren’t, that’s his business. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/139 "2024-07-23T10:39:10Z")
To (extremely grudgingly) defend Cosby’s jokes about “Spanish fly”, it was a whole pre-internet meme in the 1970s about this magic aphrodisiac that would make girls uncontrollably horny, usually discussed by pubescent males who hadn’t actually even dated yet. I’d always assumed he was riffing on that. Hindsight is a bittersweet thing. And [Spanish fly’s properties as a Potion of Instant Horniness remain dubious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytta_vesicatoria), thankfully. (In fact it’s highly toxic, although it is used to treat warts and a few other conditions). Rohypnol, on the other hand, seems to work quite well for the nefarious purposes of rapey scum like Cosby. Anyway - no idea whether we’ll ever know the truth about Gaiman’s accusers, although the fact that there are only two of them (which is still bad) makes the “serial” label a little tenuous. > [@Loach](#): > > During the Hannibal Buress set that lead to his downfall Buress told the audience “When you get home Google Bill Cosby rape and it will get more hits than me.” Bill Cosby is like an otter. They’re both funny and adorable, but when you look them up on the internet you find a lot of horrific stories about rape. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781/140 "2024-07-23T13:48:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Bill Cosby is like an otter. They’re both funny and adorable, but when you look them up on the internet you find a lot of horrific stories about rape. Mallard Ducks, too, I believe. Of the recent bombshells, I would rank my knowledge as: 1. Harvey Weinstein - strong rumors, knew he was a creep at minimum 2. Cosby - a lot of vague rumors, but assumed not true 3. Gaiman - shocked. I hope it isn’t all true, but I had no idea. I thought(think?) he was(is?) a great guy. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-gaiman-accused-of-being-serial-sexual-abuser/1003781.md?page=8)