Dylan Farrow speaks out about abuse accusations against Woody Allen
Woody Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow on Saturday repeated — and elaborated on — her assertion that the filmmaker sexually assaulted her when she was a child.
Farrow’s open letter, published on the New York Times website, is part of a renewed public scrutiny of allegations first leveled against Allen in 1992, shortly after the end of his relationship with actress Mia Farrow. In a Vanity Fair story published in October, Dylan Farrow (who now goes by another name) also laid out details of what she said happened to her.
Allen, who has long maintained his innocence, could not be reached for comment Saturday. The New York Times said he declined to comment on the record.
In her letter, Farrow said, “When I was 7 years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me.” She also alleged a pattern of abuse throughout her childhood.
“Woody Allen was never convicted of any crime,” Farrow wrote. “That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up.”
Farrow said she was speaking out now because of Allen’s recent accolades in Hollywood. The director’s latest film, “Blue Jasmine,” has been nominated for three Academy Awards.
Allen also received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at this year’s Golden Globes ceremony. After Diane Keaton accepted that award on Allen’s behalf, Ronan Farrow, Allen’s son with Mia Farrow, wrote on Twitter: “Missed the Woody Allen tribute — did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?” Mia Farrow tweeted the next day: “A woman has publicly detailed Woody Allen’s molestation of her at age 7. Golden Globe tribute showed contempt for her & all abuse survivors.”
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Mia Farrow and Allen ended their relationship in 1992 after Farrow learned that Allen had become involved with Soon-Yi Previn, Farrow’s adopted daughter with composer Andre Previn. During a subsequent custody battle, Farrow accused Allen of sexually molesting Dylan. The allegations triggered a criminal inquiry by the Connecticut State Police. An investigative team from the Yale-New Haven Hospital concluded, after a six-month inquiry, that Dylan had not been molested. Allen was never charged.
Robert Weide, a screenwriter, director and producer who made a documentary on Allen for PBS’ “American Masters” series in 2011, wrote a long story on the controversy in the Daily Beast last week, casting doubt on the accusations. “If I wrote it today, it would be exactly the same piece,” he said after the Dylan Farrow letter was released.
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