Neil Gaiman — the best-selling author whose work includes comic book series *The Sandman *and the novels Good Omens and American Gods — has denied sexual assault allegations made against him by two women with whom he had relationships with at the time, Tortoise Media reports.

The allegations were made during Tortoise’s four-part podcast Master: the Allegations Against Neil Gaiman, which was released Wednesday. In it, the women allege “rough and degrading sex” with the author, which the women claim was not always consensual.

One of the women, a 23-year-old named Scarlett, worked as a nanny to his child.

  • Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    I’ll disagree about age. At 23, the pre-frontal cortex is still developing and won’t be finished until around 25.

    It’s responsible for:

    • Executive functions (planning, decision-making, problem-solving)
    • Impulse control
    • Emotional regulation
    • Social interactions and behavior

    There is a distinct imbalance between someone in their 60’s and someone in their early 20’s. I’m not saying it can’t be carefully and respectfully navigated, but it has to be acknowledged and accounted for.

    It doesn’t sound like that happened here.

    Then we have the power dynamic of a celebrity who is also your employer. Add in a healthy dose of fictive kinship due to the live-in nature of a nanny and you’re in a situation rife with the potential for abuse.