Recommendations of the Editorial team
An archive piece from January 31, 2018.
After numerous revelations about sexual abuse in Hollywood (from Harvey Weinstein to Kevin Spacey to Louis CK) and the subsequent MeToo movement online, Dylan Farrow once again renewed the allegations against Woody Allen. The director’s stepdaughter has been claiming for several years that she was abused by Allen in the ’90s when she was seven years old.
Last year she revisited her alleged experiences for the LA Times – and asked in her article why the MeToo movement didn’t also address Woody Allen. Several actresses then spoke up. Rebecca Hall and Timothée Chalamet (stars of the upcoming Allen film “A Rainy Day in New York”) donated their fees in advance because they do not want to “profit” from an Allen film.
Now Diane Keaton is getting involved in the debate about the multiple Oscar winner and defended the 82-year-old, with whom she once made several films, on Twitter. “Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” said the actress, who replaced Allen’s then-wife Mia Farrow in 1993’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” when the allegations came to light. At the same time, she added that interested people should form their own opinion with a TV show: “It might be interesting to take a look at the ’60 Minutes’ interview from 1992.”
Woody Allen defends himself for 60 minutes
In the program in question, Woody Allen was given the chance to comment in detail on the allegations (which were rejected by several courts as unfounded). Allen: “A gigantic chain of events was built on a total non-event of an event. And when I say non-event, I mean it. It wasn’t like I was petting my daughter or anything. A lot of it was exaggerated. I’m not saying anything.
I mean, I went up and played with the kids, read them stories, did my usual things and had a wonderful time with them. And that moment gave birth to lawyers, psychologists and private investigators. I say a multi-million dollar industry has emerged from this non-event. (…) Why should I become a child molester at such a moment? (…) [Dylan] was methodically coached to tell Mia’s story.”
If you look at Woody Allen’s “60 Minutes” interview, even if it’s only small parts, you immediately see that the 82-year-old was given a very relaxed, criticism-free space to present himself and clear up any ambiguities.
Keaton isn’t the first to side with Allen. Most recently, Alec Baldwin also spoke out and made it clear to all of the director’s critics on Twitter that he had already been legally exonerated.