Woody Allen Responds To Dylan Farrow's Allegations
Following Dylan Farrow's Op-Ed piece in The New York Times this past weekend where she alleges that Woody Allen sexually abused her when she was a child, the four-time Oscar winner responded in a piece published by the same newspaper.
Allen, 78, denies the allegations, writing bluntly, "I did not molest Dylan," but he does suggest that Dylan, 28, believes the claims that she's made about him.
"Not that I doubt Dylan hasn't come to believe she's been molested, but if from the age of 7 a vulnerable child is taught by a strong mother to hate her father because he is a monster who abused her, is it so inconceivable that after many years of this indoctrination the image of me Mia wanted to establish had taken root?" Allen wrote.
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In Dylan's letter, she provides a first-person account of what she claims happened to her in 1992.
"Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic," wrote Dylan. It is there that she claims the sexual assault took place.
The original sexual assault claims in 1992 prompted a six-month investigation that turned up no credible evidence and ended without Woody being charged for a crime. Prior to the allegations, Woody made headlines for beginning a relationship with Mia Farrow's 19-year-old adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn -- now his wife of 13 years.
Dylan's 36-year-old brother Moses recently defended Allen in an interview with People magazine, saying, "Of course Woody did not molest my sister. She loved him and looked forward to seeing him when he would visit. She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him. The day in question, there were six or seven of us in the house. We were all in public rooms and no one, not my father or sister, was off in any private spaces. My mother was conveniently out shopping. I don't know if my sister really believes she was molested or is trying to please her mother. Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation because to be on her wrong side was horrible."
Although allegations persist, Allen's attorney Elkan Abramowitz told ET that "there is no legal case," indicating that Allen cannot be charged regarding the claims.
"Being taught to hate your father and made to believe he molested you has already taken a psychological toll on this lovely young woman, and Soon-Yi and I are both hoping that one day she will understand who has really made her a victim and reconnect with us, as Moses has, in a loving, productive way," Allen wrote. "No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing. (This piece will be my final word on this entire matter and no one will be responding on my behalf to any further comments on it by any party. Enough people have been hurt.)"
UPDATE: Dylan has since responded to Allen's Op-Ed, telling Us magazine, "Once again, Woody Allen is attacking me and my family in an effort to discredit and silence me - but nothing he says or writes can change the truth. For 20 years, I have never wavered in describing what he did to me. I will carry the memories of surviving these experiences for the rest of my life."
She continues, "His Op-Ed is the latest rehash of the same legalese, distortions, and outright lies he has leveled at me for the past 20 years. He insists my mother brought criminal charges - in fact, it was a pediatrician who reported the incident to the police based on my firsthand account. He suggests that no one complained of his misconduct prior to his assault on me - court documents show that he was in treatment for what his own therapist described as 'inappropriate' behavior with me from as early as 1991."
