'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAIhAAAQIGAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQFETFBBwYSEyEi/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQP/xAAaEQEAAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAISIXHB/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCxyNy3LUTrp1mWp0wUUNaPOtt7sEwp2xV820Du9/eMxsjM6HWUOAoIWkKwdwhCaWVsGNees//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Several women have come forward to accuse The Sandman author, Neil Gaiman, of s*xual assault in a New York Magazine cover story, one of whom is Caroline Wallner.
Variety reports that Caroline worked as a caretaker and nanny for Gaiman in Woodstock, New York. The two struck up a relationship in December 2017 after her husband left her. Per the outlet, following her experiences with the author, she was forced to sign an NDA.
Speaking with the New York Magazine, Caroline outlined multiple instances where she felt Gaiman was crossing a boundary, even in front of his son:
“He didn’t have boundaries,” Caroline says. “I remember thinking that there was something really wrong with him.”
All we know about Caroline Wallner and Neil Gaiman's contentious relationship
Vulture reports that back when Caroline was living on Neil Gaiman's property as a potter along with her husband, who was a builder, Gaiman's wife would occasionally confide in her:
“‘You have no idea the twisted, dark things that go on in that man’s head,’” Caroline recounted Palmer saying.
However, after Caroline's own marriage withered, she began receiving the attention of Neil Gaiman. One day, she says, he walked into her home unannounced, only to find her on the couch, crying. He told her she "needs a hug," though within seconds, he touched her inappropriately. “I was stunned,” she said, recounting how she didn't do or say anything at the moment.
The two would frequently get intimate over the next two years, often when Palmer, Neil Gaiman's wife, was not in town. One time, when Caroline asked him about their relationship and what Palmer would think: “He said, ‘Caroline, there is no romance.’”
Working as a babysitter one day, she fell asleep in Gaiman's then 4-year-old son's bed. She woke up to him climbing into bed with them and forcing her to engage in lewd conduct with his son still in the middle. By April 2021, things began souring between the two, and by December of that year, Caroline was offered $5,000 to get off the property.
She was also ordered to sign a 16-page NDA that prohibited her from discussing anything about her encounters with Neil Gaiman or Palmer, as well as from taking legal action against him. She recalled saying at the time:
"What am I going to do with $5,000? I need therapy. This is maybe $300,000.”
In retrospect, she said she doesn't remember how she came up with the number, though she revealed Gaiman agreed to her terms, and so, she signed.
Trending
Several other women have come forward to accuse Neil Gaiman of accusing them, most of whose claims fall in the same vein. Gaiman has categorically denied any wrongdoing, asserting that his behavior was perfectly lawful.
Your perspective matters!
Start the conversation
