Neil Gaiman Calls Rape Accuser a ‘Fantasist,’ Moves to Dismiss Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Neil Gaiman’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the sexual assault lawsuit in Wisconsin brought by a former nanny, Scarlett Pavlovich.

Pavlovich sued Gaiman in Wisconsin, New York, and Massachusetts last month, accusing the author of rape and sexual assault. She also accused Gaiman’s ex-wife, Amanda Palmer, of “procuring and presenting [her] to Gaiman for such abuse.” Pavlovich’s suit came after she shared her story with New York Magazine. (Eight of Gaiman’s accusers spoke for that story. Gaiman has denied all allegations against him.). 

Along with the motion to dismiss, Gaiman submitted his own court declaration, in which he called Pavlovich a “fantasist who has fabricated a tale of abuse” against him and Palmer. 

Attached to Gaiman’s new filing are two exhibits filled with text message conversations between himself and Pavlovich from 2022 through early 2023. Gaiman claimed the messages “demonstrate, in Pavlovich’s own words, that our relationship was consensual, and that Pavlovich was an enthusiastic participant who initiated many of our sexual encounters.” 

Pavlovich alleged that Gaiman first raped her in February 2022 in a garden bathtub at Gaiman and Palmer’s home in New Zealand. She claimed that Gaiman offered her the chance to use the tub, which she accepted, but was then surprised when Gaiman came back naked, got in the tub with her, and allegedly penetrated her anally with his fingers and attempted to do so with his penis. 

Gaiman specifically addressed this alleged incident in his declaration, claiming he “invited Pavlovich to take a bath with” him and “did not pressure her to do so.” He claimed that, while in the bath, the two “talked about consent,” and Pavlovich told him she was “open to having a sexual relationship” with him. 

“We cuddled and made out in the bath,” Gaiman claimed. “We then returned to the house and engaged in other sexual activity—although we did not have

sex then, or at any time thereafter. At no point did Pavlovich say or do anything that led me to believe that she was not a willing participant in the activities.”

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The texts Gaiman submitted included a message Pavlovich sent him after that first encounter in which she wrote, “Thank you for a lovely lovely night ~ wow x.” 

Pavlovich has acknowledged that she did not initially see what had allegedly happened to her as rape or assault. In her interview with New York, for instance, she remembered feeling confused after the first alleged attack, saying, “You’re not thinking in a linear or logical fashion, but the mind is trying to process it in the ways that it can.” 

Among the texts Gaiman submitted is another exchange from March 2022 that was referenced in the New York story. Gaiman told Pavolvich he was concerned that one of her friends was spreading “all the stuff about me raping you” and “me tooing threats.” 

Pavlovich responded, in part, “It was consensual (and wonderful!),” adding that she thought her friend had been “triggered by something.”

In discussing the exchange with New York, Pavlovich said she was feeling “disconnected from everybody else” at the time and was worried about upsetting Gaiman.

Pavlovich’s lawsuit contains other alleged instances where Gaiman assaulted, raped, abused, and degraded her, including instances where the author allegedly “forc[ed] her into sexual conduct in front of Gaiman’s child, and forc[ed] her to touch and lick feces and urine.” She described many of these as “nonconsensual sex acts.” 

Along with denying this in his new filing, Gaiman noted that in November 2022, Pavlovich reported her allegations to the police in New Zealand. Gaiman claimed, “Those allegations were thoroughly investigated by New Zealand police, and no charges were brought. In early April 2024, the New Zealand police closed the investigation.” 

He went on to allege that Pavlovich’s lawsuits are “designed to pressure me into an unjust financial settlement.” 

Lawyers for Pavlovich did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.