A woman in the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Neil Gaiman and his ex-wife, accusing the British author of sexually assaulting her.

The lawsuits against Gaiman and Amanda Palmer have been filed in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York.

The woman alleges that the ex-couple violated federal human trafficking laws, with charges of assault, battery and infliction of emotional distress against Gaiman and negligence against Palmer. She is seeking at least $7 million (£5.6 million) in damages.

Gaiman, 64, has denied sexual assault allegations made by eight women, and says he “never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone”.

The lawsuit alleges that the woman befriended Palmer and began working for the couple when she was 22 and homeless in New Zealand, and that’s when the assaults began.

According to the lawsuits, Palmer told the woman that he had previously received complaints from more than a dozen women.

Five of the eight women who appeared in a New York magazine article in January accused the writer of sexual assault in a series of Tortoise Media podcasts that were published in the summer of 2024.

Gaiman, who has adapted the books Good Omens, American Gods and The Sandman for television, denied all allegations against him in a post on his blog on January 14: “I have remained silent until now, out of respect for the people who share their stories and a desire to avoid drawing too much attention to the many misinformation stories.”

“As I read this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognize and moments I don’t, sitting emphatically next to details of things that didn’t happen and things that did.”

He admitted to being “careless with people’s hearts and feelings” and “could have done better,” but said he “doesn’t accept that any abuse occurred.”

Since the allegations surfaced, publisher Dark Horse Comics has canceled Gaiman’s upcoming works and has pulled a UK stage adaptation of his book Coraline.