Culture
Stop Blaming Autism. Neil Gaiman and Elon Musk are Just Loathsome.
In late 2023, while I was resuming my studies at a local liberal arts college after an unsuccessful move to another city, I stumbled upon an alarming post on Threads. Neil Gaiman, the celebrated creator of Coraline, The Sandman, and American Gods, had been accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women. This revelation left me heartbroken. My sorrow turned to rage when I learned that Gaiman was allegedly using autism to justify his behavior. Equally infuriating was Elon Musk, who also identifies as autistic, performing a Nazi salute at a Donald Trump rally, with his defenders similarly invoking autism as a defense.
A Vulture article from January provided a deeply unsettling account of the allegations against Gaiman. I found the descriptions so graphic and disturbing that I struggled to read beyond the initial paragraphs. Although I had never been a dedicated fan of Gaiman, the accusations affected me personally. Seeing a successful autistic man accused of such egregious acts forced me to confront my biases. I now believe the allegations to be credible.
Elon Musk, who publicly identified as autistic during a Saturday Night Live appearance, has also faced accusations of sexual misconduct. Several former SpaceX employees have filed lawsuits against him for harassment. Musk’s behavior reflects an unsettling preoccupation with global birth rates, particularly the declining numbers of white babies compared to the increasing birth rates of non-white and Muslim populations. Born into a privileged family that profited from an emerald mine in apartheid-era South Africa, Musk was indoctrinated with white supremacist ideals early on. Despite having fathered twelve children with multiple partners, he paradoxically advocates for traditional gender roles and family values.
As a white autistic Muslim man, I strongly denounce both Gaiman and Musk for their exploitation of autism as a defense for their misconduct. The stigma against autistic men in the media dates back to at least 1999, when speculation surfaced that the Columbine shooters had Asperger’s syndrome. Today, autistic men face a reputation nearly as tarnished as that of Muslim men post-9/11. Figures like Andrew Tate, a misogynist influencer who paradoxically praises Muslim women for adhering to “traditional femininity,” exacerbate these stereotypes. Media narratives continue to falsely link autism with deviant and violent behavior.
However, research unequivocally demonstrates that autistic people, including men, are significantly more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violence and sexual misconduct. There is no scientific basis for connecting autism to violent or inappropriate sexual behavior. Yet, Western media figures such as Joe Scarborough and Donnie Deutsch perpetuate dangerous myths, fueling fear and prejudice. The sight of prominent figures like Musk, Gaiman, or Alek Minassian using autism as a defense enrages me, as it amplifies the harassment, abuse, and discrimination that autistic people, including myself, endure on a daily basis.
Moreover, autism is often dragged into discussions about school shootings, terrorism, and sexual misconduct—but only when the perpetrator is a cisgender white male. This narrative serves to obscure accountability and shield white perpetrators from scrutiny. While autistic individuals make up just one percent of the U.S. population, they are disproportionately represented in incel communities. Approximately forty-four percent of incels report autism-like symptoms, though many remain undiagnosed.
The silence of Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism advocacy organization, on these issues is both telling and troubling. The organization has failed to condemn Musk and Gaiman’s misuse of autism, much like it failed to address the 2014 sexual assault of an autistic teenage boy by two white girls who received unusually light sentences. Autism Speaks’ history of questionable alliances, including a 2017 partnership with an Islamophobic biker gang and its connections to Zionist benefactors like Bernard Marcus, raises further concerns about its true priorities.
As an autistic Muslim convert, I have faced immense challenges in dating and relationships, and I am terrified by the current political climate. This administration’s portrayal of autism as a “disease” and its endorsement of the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism only exacerbate my fears. Should another high-profile incel attack involving an autistic perpetrator occur, I worry that the government will begin to demonize those with autism in order to enact draconian legislation.
Seventy percent of autistic people identify as LGBTQIA, placing them at heightened risk amid the anti-LGBTQIA hysteria that surged in the early 2020s. This panic contributed to Donald Trump’s return to the presidency and fueled a rise in hate crimes. Autistic individuals, who are statistically more likely to identify as transgender, face compounded threats. Despite their fundamental right to pursue consensual relationships and marriage, the current administration seeks to strip those rights away.
It is time to hold figures like Gaiman and Musk accountable. The tech giants, media conglomerates, pundits, politicians, and organizations like Autism Speaks that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and misinformation must also face scrutiny. Autistic people have suffered long enough under these damaging narratives. It is time to change the story.