The University of St Andrews says it is supporting a student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by best-selling author Neil Gaiman.
Gaiman’s accuser worked for the writer as a nanny for his son before attending the historic institution.
She claims, in an interview with New York Magazine released this week, she was attacked on several occasions by Gaiman, 64, whom she was introduced to in February 2022.
The Courier has asked his representatives for comment.
The author – whose book Stardust was made into a Hollywood movie starring Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller and Ricky Gervais – has rejected several allegations of sexual misconduct since they first emerged in July 2024.
Gaiman posted a 500-word denial on his official website on Tuesday.
University of St Andrews monitoring Neil Gaiman case
It is claimed his accuser reported him to the police while living in New Zealand in January 2023 but that officers have dropped the investigation.
She also says that last month she asked University of St Andrews principal Dame Sally Mapstone to strip Gaiman of the honorary degree he was given in Fife in 2016.
Ms Mapstone’s response was described as “sympathetic but indecisive”.
It is alleged she said the university would need evidence of prosecution before making a decision.
A spokesperson for the University of St Andrews told The Courier: “We applaud the courage of all survivors of sexual abuse, and especially those who have felt able to speak out about it.
“Our priority is the welfare of our student, to whom we are providing support and counselling.
“We will continue to monitor this case with concern and close interest.”
Gaiman – whose works include Good Omens, The Sandman and Coraline – has been accused of sexual assault by eight women.
Several of his film and TV projects have been affected since the allegations surfaced.
Season three of Good Omens, made for the small screen by Amazon Prime and starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen, will now end with one 90-minute episode while Gaiman is no longer involved in the production.
Disney has also paused production on its film adaptation of another one of his titles, The Graveyard Book.
Neil Gaiman denies allegations
Harry Potter author JK Rowling this week slammed “the literary crowd” for what she claimed was a “strangely muted” response to the allegations against Gaiman.
News website Tortoise Media says Gaiman “did not provide any on-the-record response to multiple detailed requests for comment” after four women came forward in 2024.
Its original report says the author “strongly denies any allegations of non-consensual sex”.
Gaiman’s representatives, responding to this week’s accusations, said they were “false, not to mention, deplorable”.
Writing on his website, he claimed he had watched with “horror and dismay” as the sexual misconduct claims against him emerged.
Gaiman said: “I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.”
He added: “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.
“I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
Gaiman claims messages he exchanged with his accusers read like “two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again”.
He said: “I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better.
“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.
“It was selfish of me. I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other people’s.”
He added: “Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality.”
