J.K. Rowling has something to say about the Neil Gaiman allegations
You know things are dire when we have to say that notorious TERF and transphobe J.K Rowling (sometimes known as the author of the Harry Potter series) makes a good point.
On Monday, Vulture published a tell-all detailing the many allegations against author Neil Gaiman. Though some of the allegations have been known since last summer, they pale in comparison to the full scope of what he has done, according to the multiple women who have come forward. To say the least, it’s sickening. It is detail we won’t get into here, but we cannot stress trigger warnings enough for the piece.
J.K Rowling took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her thoughts on the situation, saying, “The literary crowd that had a hell of a lot to say about Harvey Weinstein before he was convicted has been strangely muted in its response to multiple accusations against Neil Gaiman from young women who’d never met, yet – as with Weinstein – tell remarkably similar stories.”
And unfortunately? She does have a point. I guess a broken clock can be right twice a day and all that. This still does not absolve Rowling of her own controversies, though. She has also marred her own legacy thanks to continued attacks against trans women, among other things. So having her say that someone is bad? They’ve got to be bad bad.
Same story, different famous man
Even though the first allegations came out last summer via Tortoise Media’s six-part podcast called Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman, it has mostly been crickets since then from a reporting perspective. I even had to hunt when the news first broke on X because nobody was talking about it. In that time, Gaiman has been allowed to quietly slip into obscurity, clandestinely turning off comments on X posts while mostly staying away from social media. Because of this, many forgot about the accusations at all until the profile came out on Monday.
It also calls attention to the hypocrisy in the industry. Everybody you love or admire is innocent until they’re not. Just like many actors were silent in the wake of the Weinstein allegations, many authors have not yet stepped up to say anything about Gaiman. There will probably be a number who will never speak up about it but who knew things were going on.
Much like Weinstein, Gaiman also utilized payoffs and NDAs to keep women from speaking out against him. Fans were taken advantage of, and power was abused because they knew they could get away with it. It’s a tale as old as time, seemingly one that will never change. Men like Gaiman and Weinstein will continue to prey on women because they can. And those women will continue to never be believed until it’s too late.
While communications are still happening between the women and Gaiman, and no statement has been made from either Gaiman or his reps, it is unclear how things will move forward. However, as previously reported, Gaiman has stepped back as showrunner from Good Omens, which is at least one good thing. The show will be able to finish as a 90-minute episode divorced from Gaiman’s name, at least professionally.
Separating the art from the artist is difficult at a time like this–for many, Gaiman wrote works that were escapes, and now those escapes are sullied.
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