In July, writer Neil Gaiman found himself at the center of a legacy-tarnishing scandal when five women stepped forward to share their stories of alleged sexual abuse at the hand of “The Sandman” author.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, musician Tori Amos made a rare statement on the accusations against her longtime friend and collaborator, calling them “shocking,” and expressing a willingness to walk away from the friend she thought she knew if everything that’s being said about him by his alleged victims is true.
When asked for her thoughts on the abuse described by the women, most of which came to light during Tortoise Media’s podcast, “Master: The allegations against Neil Gaiman,” which aired on July 3, detailing sexual assaults by Gaiman between the years 1986 to 2022, Amos said, “If the allegations are true, that’s not the Neil that I knew, that’s not the friend that I knew, nor a friend that I ever want to know. So in some ways, it’s a heartbreaking grief. I never saw that side of Neil. Neither did my crew. And my crew has seen a lot.”
Addressing why she waited until now to comment on the allegations, Amos added, “I haven’t publicly said anything because: what do I say? . . . I wasn’t there. I’ve never met these people. And I’ve never received a letter – of the thousands of letters I’ve gotten in 33 years – I’ve never received anything that was about Neil, except praise for his work and how much his work meant to people. That’s all I ever knew.”
To date, Gaiman, 63, denies any wrongdoing.
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