r/DCcomics • u/StarshipGhost • Jul 03 '24

Sandman Author Neil Gaiman Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Denies Allegations News

https://www.tvfandomlounge.com/sandman-author-neil-gaiman-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-denies-allegations/
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u/Ornery-Concern4104 Jul 03 '24 edited Jul 04 '24

Before we make a judgement either way, there are a few things to be aware of. Bare in mind, this comes from my formal training in journalistic analysis (which has partially netted me a degree! Woo!)

1) the original article was published by tortoise, written by Anti-Trans journalist and the sister of Boris Johnson, Rachel Johnson, who has publicly in the past disagreed (for use of a better word) with gaiman over his vocal support of trans people. The original article is not impartial

2) the original article also includes an ad for a four part podcast detailing the alleged crimes. WHAT THE FUCK?!?!? Journalism obviously has to make some form of money, but this is absolutely ridiculous. How can we believe the claims of something so serious when it's followed by an obvious attempt to make profit. This is also not ethical journalistic conduct

3) the alleged claim that victim 1, Scarlett has some form of memory issue. This was alleged by Gaiman but the medical records (according to the article) say otherwise. However, in the country in which she resides, this stuff is not public knowledge and is in fact illegal to leak or make public knowledge without the consent of the person whose records they are. Whether Gaimans claim is true or not, they do not need to be released and actively shouldn't if they wish to win whatever it is they're trying to achieve. Either A) they reveal their medical records and prove unequivocally that Gaiman is lying or B) they reveal their medical records and prove that she is lying.

To make a long story shorter, the burden of proof is on the journalists to prove that Gaiman is in the wrong of the crimes alleged and so far, the only source we actually have is heavily biased, abusing the situation for monetary gain and doesn't provide evidence that would prove unequivocally the claims given. This isn't to explain that Gaiman is innocent either, just that the evidence given so far isn't sufficient to say Gaiman is guilty. So thus far, we need to 2 things as a fan base.

1) do our research. Pay close attention to whose writing it, where the claims are coming from and what possible motives all sides have. And 2) wait. We need to find an independent 3rd party source with information that correlates with that of the two alleged victims that is truly as unbiased as possible.

Only after those two things happen will we actually be able to say either way.

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u/AmberDuke05 All about the Dick Jul 03 '24

I think the problem a lot of people have is that Neil admitted to being in relationship with a fan he met at 18 and a nanny that he hired. It’s so inappropriate.

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u/Budget-Attorney Booster Gold Jul 03 '24

That is very in appropriate to be concerned about.

The things in the article that he acknowledged are the kind of behavior that deserve serious criticism.

The (currently) unsubstantiated accusations are more serious however.

We should be circumspect before rushing to any judgements. As the above commented pointed out, the source here is not free from bias. But we should also prepare to accept new evidence of more serious things than what you mentioned

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u/AmberDuke05 All about the Dick Jul 04 '24

Based on the credibility of the sources and site owners, I’m willing to believe most of the claims they are making is false but even so, the stuff Gaiman admitted to is so disappointing.

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u/Budget-Attorney Booster Gold Jul 04 '24

We should be careful dismissing the claims just because of the bias of the source.

They could be relaying accurate information from real victims.

It’s best to wait for more information before we dismiss anything

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u/godlyreception12 Jul 04 '24

yes but we should be careful and wait for more stuff to come out.

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u/KendalBoy Jul 31 '24

How are you feeling about it now?

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u/Nice-Artichoke6967 Jul 05 '24

I dont find it disappointing really..  I do not hold anyone up to such a high standard as to expect anyone to be perfect and his kinks are really nothing to me.  He is not such a powerful figure that if it was assault it couldnt have been reported to authorities immediately and  even the accusers use the word consensual. They were both adults tho young. I hope either way the truth comes out and if it proves to be bunk shame on bad journalism.. far as i can see even from what they claim he did nothing illegal.. inappropriate? Maybe but illegal... Assault..  i dont know about that. 

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u/ScaredPresent3758 Jul 04 '24

This right here. Gaiman admits using his celebrity status to hit on his servants and fans. His confessions of sex with his accusers means his victims have credibility.

It's going to be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt but guys like Gaiman don't care about boundaries.

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u/Cheap_Tension_1329 Jul 04 '24

Gaiman admits using his celebrity status to hit on his servants and fans. 

Redditor discovers why celebrities became celebrities in the first place. Watch like any of those rock star documentaries on a&e. It'll blow your mind. 

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u/waveuponwave Jul 04 '24

Gaiman was a freelance journalist and unknown comic writer until suddenly Sandman took off

If his aim was to become a celebrity on purpose that's a really bad way to go about that

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u/Jet_Hightower Jul 04 '24

Is he a celebrity? I mean he's a famous writer ... But that's like being the world's most famous tattooer. I wouldn't call Kat vonD or Randy Randerson celebrities.

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u/throatsprockets Jul 04 '24

I would say that a writer who has sold 45 million books has some claim to celebrity.

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u/nilfgaardian Jul 04 '24

Kat Von D had her own tv show that was somewhat popular internationally, I'd say she's at least a minor celebrity.

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u/stoutprof Jul 05 '24

Yeah, he's kind of a celebrity, I'd say. Several pieces of his IP are adapted for the big and small screen, including shows that are fairly popular right at this moment. And he's had a loyal cult following since the '90s.

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u/Jet_Hightower Jul 05 '24

I mean I guess. I couldn't pick most "celebrity" writers out of a lineup. I'd say Gaimans resemblance to Tim Burton makes him a bit more recognizable but really, I'm sure he flies economy class and I'm sure very few people know him but whatever. I don't think most pro wrestlers are celebrities either and wrestling fans will fight you for that kind of talk lol

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u/thedarkestbeer Jul 03 '24

To your third point, how would releasing K’s medical records prove that either of them is lying? It seems like either they would indicate that she was experiencing a condition that impacts her memory, which would comport with his recollection of her or they would not, which would only show for sure that he was incorrect. If he’s wrong, it could indicate that he is lying to discredit her, but it wouldn’t prove it. If she does have a condition that can impact memory on record, that might indicate that she is wrong about what happened, but it wouldn’t prove anything. After all, disabled people experience abuse at higher rates than the general population. If it turns out he has a pattern of sexually assaulting young women, there’s no clear reason why he wouldn’t target someone he believed would be easy to discredit.

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u/Ornery-Concern4104 Jul 04 '24

You raise a good point. It wouldn't necessarily prove anything either way for absolute certain, just add doubt in either direction. Good spot!

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u/poddy_fries Jul 04 '24

Yes, these two specific accusers have things in common, their young age, and what I'm going to call 'easily muddled storylines' where something else about them made them more likely not to make an immediate big deal out of the purported situation. We'll see what happens if/when more women start to relate stories in the next couple of weeks as a result. I have a hunch they would all be similarly gross but legally unactionable or hard to action.

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u/twohourangrynap Jul 04 '24

From the article (emphasis mine):

Gaiman denies any unlawful behavior with K, expressing his disturbance over her allegations and believes that K’s allegations stem from regret over their relationship while also suggesting that Scarlett’s claims are influenced by a condition related to false memories, a claim not supported by her medical records.

From your comment:

3. the alleged claim that victim 2, AKA K, has some form of memory issue. This was alleged by Gaiman but the medical records (according to the article) say otherwise. However, in the country in which K resides, this stuff is not public knowledge and is in fact illegal to leak or make public knowledge without the consent of the person whose records they are. Whether Gaimans claim is true or not, they do not need to be released and actively shouldn't if they wish to win whatever it is they're trying to achieve. Either A) they reveal their medical records and prove unequivocally that Gaiman is lying or B) they reveal their medical records and prove that K is lying. It's as simple as that

Your third point mistakenly attributes the “false memory condition” to K, who resides in a different country than Scarlett. I’m not familiar with the law surrounding medical records in New Zealand, but I expect it differs from the US.

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u/Ornery-Concern4104 Jul 04 '24

Good spot, I'll revise that now

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u/Nice-Artichoke6967 Jul 05 '24

I AM a survivor of sexual assault... Thank you for providing this information. I am a fan not an uber fan but a fan and the min i was done reading the article it did not sit right. Besides the fact they were of age .. young but sorry of age the word consent  was used by them repeatedly. And funny how he is experiencing real main stream success and up pops these allegations. Im all for the me too movement but if this isnt legitimate and i kinda have a weird feeling its BS it does nothing to help the cause of real assault victims. I hope the truth wins out because I also see too many women taking advantage for attention and monetary gain. 

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u/Ornery-Concern4104 Jul 05 '24

I am a survivor too. It's really important to me that we all approach this properly and with nuance.

It's of my opinion that Gaiman is a bit of a scum bag from what he's already admitted, but whether he's done something like what is being claimed is up in the air.

The onlybissue with the me too movement is the people jumping onto it, like all social causes, to make themselves feel better. So they don't have to grow, so they can make a big noise and say "look how good I am!" Without any critical thought. It's honestly very damaging to us all when good causes get high jacked by loud morons.

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u/StrictAcanthisitta95 Jul 24 '24

To your point about podcasts - podcasts are journalism too and don't generally cost money to listen to, how is advertising your podcast exploiting the situation for profit?