Amanda Palmer is ‘profoundly disturbed’ by sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman – The Boston Globe

Singer Amanda Palmer, the Lexington native whose ex-husband, the celebrated science-fiction writer Neil Gaiman, has been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, will not be commenting on the allegations.In a post shared on her Instagram page Wednesday, Palmer, who leads the Boston-based band Dresden Dolls, wrote that, due to “ongoing custody and divorce proceedings,” she is “not able to offer public comment.”“Please understand that I am first and foremost a parent,” Palmer wrote. “I ask for privacy at this time.”A representative for Palmer gave a statement to New York Magazine, saying she is “profoundly disturbed” by the allegations against Gaiman, but declined further comment. Palmer, 48, married the 64-year-old Gaiman in 2011, and from 2012 to 2013 they lived in Cambridge at a residence formerly owned by economist and longtime Harvard professor John Kenneth Galbraith.AdvertisementA post shared by Amanda Palmer 🎹 (@amandapalmer)The allegations against Gaiman, the acclaimed British author of the comic book series “The Sandman” and the novels “Good Omens,” “American Gods,” and “Coraline,” first surfaced over the summer in a six-episode podcast produced by the British news website Tortoise Media.In the podcast, five women, including one who was a nanny to Gaiman and Palmer’s son in 2022, said they had been sexually assaulted by Gaiman while in a consensual relationship with the author. One of the women alleged that Gaiman pressured her to have sex in exchange for letting her and her three children live in a house he owned in upstate New York.Earlier this week, New York Magazine published a lengthy piece that included the accounts of yet more women who say Gaiman assaulted them. The author, who has consistently denied all claims of assault, abuse, and coercion but otherwise remained silent on the allegations, issued a more nuanced statement Wednesday.“As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen,” Gaiman posted on Tumblr, the social media site. “I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”AdvertisementThe author said he’s reviewed past communications with some of the alleged victims, and they read like “two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again.”But Gaiman also acknowledged mistakes.“I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better,” Gaiman wrote. “I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with people’s hearts and feelings, and that’s something that I really, deeply regret.”Although the couple announced plans to divorce when they separated in 2022, New York Magazine reported they’re in the fifth year of an “ugly divorce and custody battle,” and Palmer’s latest Instagram post confirms that their divorce is not yet final. Many who have read the allegations against Gaiman have criticized Palmer, an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual assault throughout her career, for failing to protect women from being victimized by her husband.Gaiman, too, has been vocal in his support of victims of sexual assault. In September 2018, amid the #MeToo movement, the author tweeted: “On a day like today it’s worth saying, I believe survivors. Men must not close our eyes and minds to what happens to women in this world. We must fight alongside them, for them to be believed, at the ballot box & with art & by listening, and change this world for the better.”Palmer, who has cultivated a large online following in part with frequent social media posts about her life, revealed in September 2024 that she had moved back to the Boston area. At the time, she shared details with her followers on Patreon.Advertisement“TBH, The last dozen years or so have felt a little like a dream. Not always a good dream. Sometimes a surreal nightmare. So many people died, so many confusing things happened, so many things felt uncontrollable. In the words that my sister friends Victoria and Tia got match-tattooed on their arms after their good friend died: That Was Weird.”On Instagram, she has posted photos of herself with her boyfriend of a year and a half, Brendon Downey. She has also performed locally, with a pair of shows at Roadrunner in Brighton in November with the Dresden Dolls, and a scheduled show in February in Fairfield, Conn.Mark Shanahan can be reached at mark.shanahan@globe.com. Follow him @MarkAShanahan.Digital AccessHome DeliveryGift SubscriptionsLog InManage My AccountCustomer ServiceDelivery IssuesFeedbackHelp & FAQsStaff ListAdvertiseNewslettersView the ePaperOrder Back IssuesNews in EducationSearch the ArchivesPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceTerms of PurchaseContactWork at Boston Globe MediaInternship ProgramCo-op ProgramDo Not Sell My Personal Information

Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/01/16/arts/amanda-palmer-neil-gaiman-accusations/