Neil Gaiman issues statement responding to rape and sexual abuse allegations

Their accusations include that Gaiman engaged them in "rough" sex and BDSM without their consent, with the New York article going into detail on specific claims.

The novelist has firmly denied any non-consensual or illegal conduct in a statement to his blog.

He began by saying that he had "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".

Gaiman continued: "I've now reached the point where I feel that I should say something.

"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 went on to say that messages between himself and his accusers "read now as they did when I received them – of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again".

However, he added that he had previously been "emotionally unavailable while being sexually available" and regrets being "selfish" and "obviously careless with people's hearts and feelings".

Gaiman wrote: "Like most of us, I'm learning, and I'm trying to do the work needed, and I know that that's not an overnight process. I hope that with the help of good people, I'll continue to grow.

"I understand that not everyone will believe me or even care what I say but I'll be doing the work anyway, for myself, my family and the people I love. I will be doing my very best to deserve their trust, as well as the trust of my readers."

He concluded: "At the same time, as I reflect on my past – and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged – I don't accept there was any abuse. To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.

"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.

"I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I'm not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can't accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn't do."

Gaiman's television projects include The Sandman, which is returning for season 2 on Netflix this year, and Good Omens, which has had its planned third season reduced to a 90-minute special on Prime Video.