Woody Allen Sexual Abuse Charges: Filmmaker Lashes Back At Dylan Farrow Allegations
Woody Allen has lashed back, through a representative, at his now-28-year-old adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow after she revived charges of sexual abuse that she says he committed against her when she was seven years old.
Allen called the charges “untrue and disgraceful.” Two other celebrities who have worked with Woody Allen also responded after Dylan Farrow named them in her letter.
The allegations that the acclaimed director of Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors and most recently, the Oscar-nominated Blue Jasmine, had committed sexual abuse against Dylan Farrow created a scandal in 1994 when they surfaced during court proceedings as Woody Allen and his former domestic partner, actress Mia Farrow, were battling over custody of the couple’s children.
Allen had left Farrow and entered a relationship with Farrow’s eldest adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, 19 at the time. Farrow discovered the relationship when she found nude photos of Soon-Yi taken by Woody Allen, causing another scandal for the filmmaker.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof included an open letter from Dylan Farrow on his blog yesterday. In the letter, Dylan Farrow charged that when she was seven, Woody Allen took her to the “dim, closet like attic” of their home. There, Dylan Farrow charged, Woody Allen “told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me.”
But through a representative Sunday, Allen expressed outrage at the letter.
“Mr. Allen has read the article and found it untrue and disgraceful. He will be responding very soon,” wrote Allen’s spokesperson Leslee Dart.
Dart went on to recount the history of the charges.
“A thorough investigation was conducted by court appointed independent experts,” Dart wrote. “The experts concluded there was no credible evidence of molestation; that Dylan Farrow had an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality; and that Dylan Farrow had likely been coached by her mother Mia Farrow. No charges were ever filed.”
An attorney for Woody Allen also released a statement. “It is tragic that after 20 years a story engineered by a vengeful lover resurfaces after it was fully vetted and rejected by independent authorities,” wrote Elkan Abramowitz. “The one to blame for Dylan’s distress is neither Dylan nor Woody Allen.”
In 1994, New York State Supreme Court Judge Elliott Wilk called the sexual abuse allegations “inconclusive,” but barred Woody Allen from contact with his then-preteen daughter anyway.
In her letter Saturday, Dylan Farrow addressed comments directly at other celebrities who have appeared in Woody Allen films, asking “what if it had been your daughter?”
Cate Blanchett, who is a favorite to win this year’s Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine, told Hollywood journalist Jeffrey Wells, “It’s obviously been a long and painful situation for the family and I hope they find some sort of resolution and peace.”
Corrected Blanchett after listening to recording: “Uhm, I mean it’s obviously been a long and painful situation for the family and I hope…”
— Hollywood Elsewhere (@wellshwood) February 2, 2014
Corrected Blanchett after listening to recording: “…and I hope they find some sort of resolution and peace.”
— Hollywood Elsewhere (@wellshwood) February 2, 2014
Alec Baldwin, also named in the Dylan Farrow letter, was more blunt on his own Twitter account, responding to a fan who asked him if he felt he owed Dylan Farrow an apology.
“What the f&@% is wrong w u that u think we all need to b commenting on this family’s personal struggle?” Baldwin wrote, quoted in US Magazine, later adding, “You are mistaken if you think there is a place for me, or any outsider, in this family’s issue.”
Alec Baldwin has appeared in several Woody Allen films including Blue Jasmine.
