Neil Gaiman’s career is over. As if the allegations put against him by women who spoke to Tortoise Media last year weren’t enough, now New York Magazine has put out a piece exploring those claims in more depth and revealing the depths Gaiman allegedly sank to.
It makes for truly disturbing reading. Gaiman comes off as an unhinged predator who would stop at nothing to get sexual gratification. One accusation involves Gaiman taking part in acts of abuse while his young son was in the room.
The allegations have been devastating for a lot of people. Gaiman was a beloved figure on the internet, especially on Tumblr, where he often spoke with fans. People loved his books – The Sandman, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and so many others – and found deep meaning in his words. The LGBTQ+ community was thrilled at Gaiman putting queer characters into his books and fighting against transphobia. Now, a lot of people are struggling to come to terms with how someone they loved and trusted could have been a serial abuser.
Good Omens fans are taking it particularly hard. Good Omens, a book Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett and released in 1990, was made into a TV series by Amazon in 2019. The show expanded on parts of the original novel, and in the season two finale, a pair of characters that a lot of people shipped, angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and demon Crowley (David Tennant), got together. Fans were overjoyed, even though mere minutes after their showstopping kiss they were broken up and headed to different destinations. The Aziraphale/Crowley story was supposed to be wrapped up in the third and final season of Good Omens, but the allegations against Gaiman put a stop to fans getting what they wanted.
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In the wake of the allegations, the third season was canceled, but the show itself was allowed a little longer. Instead of a full season, Variety revealed in October 2024 that Good Omens would be granted a single 90-minute episode to wrap things up. And, notably, Gaiman would not be involved with the show’s production, although some of the script is his work.
Fans were disappointed, but now with the release of the new allegations (it puts the total number of Gaiman accusers up to eight) they’re beginning to wonder if it’s worth releasing the final Good Omens at all. Some have adopted a “death of the author” approach and claimed Good Omens as belonging to the fans now, but others are saying the show should be canceled out of respect for the victims.
Another Gaiman project has seemingly already been canceled. Disney was making an adaptation of The Graveyard Book, but production has been paused.
Canceling Good Omens probably isn’t an option at this point, as the show is due to start shooting soon (all signs point toward Rachel Talalay being the director of the project). But chances are that plenty of fans who enthusiastically streamed Seasons 1 and 2 will not be returning for the finale. There’s a very real pain that comes with the idea that a writer you idolized was a different person behind closed doors.
The debate about what to do when a bad person produces good art will likely never be resolved. Good Omens fans thought they’d never have to tackle that question, such was Gaiman’s wholesome reputation. Now they do.
Published: Jan 14, 2025 12:43 pm