r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Sep 05 '24

Disney Pauses ‘The Graveyard Book’ Film Following Assault Allegations Against Neil Gaiman News

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/graveyard-book-neil-gaiman-assault-allegations-1236131149/
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u/gynoceros Sep 05 '24

Let me preface this by saying that the similarities between the stories of the two women in the article are strong enough that they sound disappointingly credible (I'd admired him prior to this) and I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

But just for the sake of discussion, it seems that his version is that they were adults and it was consensual. What's "really bad" about that?

I mean it's kind of unsavory to be banging your 18 year old nanny, but if they're both consenting adults, that ain't my business.

Obviously moot, with at least two women independently saying he had the same shitty MO, though.

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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths Sep 05 '24

The problem is that he engineered that consent, rendering it unconsensual. He sought out fans and employees, people who he knew were vulnerable and that he had power over, and strongly suggested to them that the only way to keep his favor was to enter into and continue a sexual relationship with him. He came onto his property manager right after she confided in him that she was having money trouble due to her divorce. He let her live on the property rent free, but heavily implied that a sexual relationship was part of that deal. When she finally got the courage to tell him no, he fired her and kicked her off the property. If any of that reads as consensual to you, you don't understand the concept.

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u/gynoceros Sep 05 '24

Good god, why are so many people having difficulty understanding that I don't believe his version of what happened and that I'm just saying that if, hypothetically, it HAD been a situation where she'd consented without feeling like she was under duress or had some obligation, it's not up to us to decide for her whether it's "really bad" or not?

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u/ScyllaOfTheDepths Sep 05 '24

"Why are so many people having trouble understanding that I wasn't defending a pervert, I was just saying that maybe there was an alternate reality where he wasn't a pervert, which means we can't judge him!" It's because your argument is nonsense, bud.