Singer Amanda Palmer struggles for gig venue amid abuse allegations fall-out

Thursday, 29 January 2026

American singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer appears to have been left scrambling to find a venue for a one-off Auckland performance in the wake of allegations against both herself and her former husband, author Neil Gaiman.

Palmer, 49, who is half of the American cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, spent much of the Covid-19 period living in New Zealand - mainly on Waiheke Island - after being caught up in the lockdown while on tour.

But on a recent visit back to the Hauraki Gulf island, the performer moved her show between two venues before eventually shifting it to a “secret” location on the mainland - with one local suggesting theatres had “cave[d] to headlines, rumours [and] social media hot takes”.

Christian Hoff-Neilsen and his partner Darleen Tana, the former Green MP, were pictured posing with Palmer in a photo shared to the singer’s subscriber-only Patreon account.

Hoff-Nielsen remains the subject of an Employment Relations Authority wage complaint by a former employee of his now-liquidated e-bike company, a saga which torpedoed Tana’s political career.

“Her [Palmer’s] not-on-Waiheke-but-packed-out-by-Waihekians show was incredible: poignant, celebratory, and deeply human,” Hoff-Neilsen told The Post by text message.

Palmer’s Auckland show was first announced late last year and initially scheduled for January 6 at Waiheke’s Artworks Theatre.

“SURPRISE! I’m doing a super-limited solo piano tour of OZ & NZ this January,” wrote Palmer at the time.

“I know you (mostly) all know how much the community down there in the antipodes means to me, and I am so inexpressibly excited for these shows.”

But the gig didn’t go ahead. One Waiheke local, who didn’t want to be named, said from conversations on the island it 'certainly … looks like there are places that won't host her now'.

Two of the venue’s sponsors - Foundation North and the Waiheke Local Board - confirmed the gig had been cancelled.

A spokesperson for Foundation North said the charity received a “small number of emails” from members of the public “expressing views” about Palmer’s show before it was cancelled.

“Decisions about individual performers and programming sit with the venue itself, and we are not involved in monitoring, reviewing, approving or indeed cancelling specific shows,” they told The Post.

Local board chair Kylee Matthews said the venue operated independently and claimed “Amanda herself” cancelled the gig. Matthews said she didn’t receive any messages directly about the show taking place.

Artworks Theatre didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment, but a statement from the venue to concerned members of the public was shared on social media.

“We thank you for the time and energy taken in expressing your concerns around this event. We have received your feedback and taken it into deep consideration. Artworks Theatre is no longer providing a venue for the Amanda Palmer show.”

The gig was then rescheduled for Waiheke’s Morra Hall, a community venue operated by a local residents’ association. The Hall’s website later listed the show as “cancelled”.

Morra Hall chair Graham Crooks described it as a “private matter”, writing in an email: “Morra Hall will not comment further on this and refuses, absolutely, any permission for any media to comment on the matter.”

Hoff-Nielsen said it was “most definitely” not Palmer that decided to shift the show, and that she had previously held successful shows at both Artworks and Morra Hall.

“We get that venues want to keep people safe and maintain community trust. But there’s a difference between having clear safety standards and blacklisting someone by association,” he said.

“Amanda has been part of the wider Waiheke community for a long time. I hope she knows there are many of us who would welcome her and her artistry with open arms. Always.”

Palmer, in a post to her Patreon at the time, did not disclose the reason for the show’s changing location. “Hold the phone, it’s the holidays,” she wrote.

This isn’t the first time the singer has experienced difficulty securing a venue. A show in New York last May was moved after complaints. At the time, Palmer said: “I reiterate that I look forward to the truth coming out and must remain agonizingly silent at the advice of my attorneys — not because I am guilty, but because of how our legal system works”.

Palmer’s Auckland concert did eventually go ahead, a day later than planned. It was held at a venue in the main city, with the location not disclosed until close to the time of the gig - a tactic often employed by performers wishing to avoid protest.

According to one online listing, the show took place at the Button Factory in central Auckland - described as a “vibrant creative community”. The venue did not respond to requests for confirmation.

Know more? Contact stewart.sowmanlund@stuff.co.nz

Palmer, during her initial stint living on Waiheke Island during the pandemic, embedded herself in the local arts scene. A 2020 gig at Auckland’s St Matthew-in-the-City included an appearance by Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, while Palmer’s 2024 EP, New Zealand Survival Songs, featured Fur Patrol’s Julia Deans.

In 2021, she achieved international notoriety after tweeting that patrons of a Havelock North cafe, in the wake of the American presidential election that saw Joe Biden enter the White House, had spontaneously applauded when they learned she was American (an investigation by The Spinoff found the claim was overblown).

However, some of that local goodwill appears to have wavered after multiple accusations made against Gaiman, her ex-husband, and claims that implicated her in the abuse.

In 2024, Gaiman was accused of sexual assault and abuse by five women after an investigation by the British news website Tortoise.

One complainant, Scarlett Pavlovich, was a former nanny of Gaiman and Palmer who worked for the couple during their time in New Zealand.

In a 2025 lawsuit, Pavlovich accused Palmer of “procuring and presenting” her to Gaiman.

The lawsuit stated that Palmer “knowingly approached and procured the services of Scarlett with reckless disregard for the fact that Gaiman would force Scarlett to engage in commercial sex acts” with him.

Gaiman has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sexual activity. Palmer has also denied the allegations against her.

Neither Palmer nor her representatives responded to a request by The Post for comment.

Posts on social media showed concern at Palmer returning to New Zealand in the aftermath of these claims. “That's in such poor taste,” wrote one person on Reddit. “So gross,” added another.

Nevertheless, Palmer has reflected positively on her brief return trip to Aotearoa. “The concert last night was beyond unforgettable,” she wrote on Facebook.

“See you next time, awesome Australian and Kiwi peoples [sic]. Might be sooner than you think.”