On Sunday (Feb. 21, 2021), Woody Allen slammed the new HBO documentary series about the sexual abuse allegations against him as a “hatchet job” that was “riddled with falsehoods.”
The decades-old accusations that Allen molested Dylan Farrow when she was a child are “categorically false,” the 85-year-old director and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, 50, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Multiple agencies investigated them at the time and found that, whatever Dylan Farrow may have been led to believe, absolutely no abuse had ever taken place,” the statement said. “It is sadly unsurprising that the network to air this is HBO — which has a standing production deal and business relationship with Ronan Farrow. While this shoddy hit piece may gain attention, it does not change the facts.”
The couple broke their silence about Allen v. Farrow shortly after the first of four episodes in the docuseries aired.
In a TV interview in 2018, Dylan Farrow denied she had been “brainwashed” or “coached” into making allegations against Allen.
Allen v Farrow, which aired its first of four episodes on Sunday on HBO in the US, is described by filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick as an investigation into the allegations, which emerged during the custody battle after Allen’s separation from Mia Farrow in 1992. Ziering also denied their film was “a collaboration … with [Dylan Farrow] or the family.”
There has been no response so far from the Farrows regarding the claims made by Allen and Previn about the documentary.
Allen has consistently denied any allegations of sexual abuse against Dylan Farrow, which were investigated in 1992-93 by Connecticut state police, the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale New Haven Hospital, and the New York Department of Social Services; none concluded that sexual assault had taken place.
Mia Farrow and her son Ronan appear in Allen v Farrow, while Allen and Previn declined to participate. The statement says Allen and Previn “were approached less than two months ago and given only a matter of days ‘to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so.” Dylan’s brother Moses, who has defended Allen from the allegations, also reportedly declined to appear in the film.
