Woody Allen, the American filmmaker who is accused of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, defended himself in a rare interview that was aired on March 28 and said that there was “no logic to it on the face of it”, according to Variety.
It was Allen’s first interview in almost 30 years.
The interview was conducted by journalist Lee Cowan for CBS Sunday Morning and was aired by Paramount Plus. Although the interview was conducted in July 2020, it was withheld from being telecast. CBS had said that the decision was taken since there were more important stories to be delivered last summer and that it was an “active news cycle” period.
The interview was aired in view of the recently-released four-part docu-series Allen v. Farrow. The series, which premiered on HBO Max on February 21, comprises home video footage, court documents, audiotapes, and exclusive interviews with investigators and prosecutors. It explores the sexual allegations made by Dylan Farrow against her adoptive father. Allen did not participate in the series.
According to the report, Allen held his stance of refusing the charges. He said that the allegations were fuelled by his former partner, Mia Farrow, who was upset during their split in 1992 following a 12-year relationship. The breakup followed after Mia Farrow came to know about Allen’s affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Previn married Allen in 1997.
“It’s so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained and they still prefer to cling to if not the notion that I molested Dylan, then the possibility that I molested her,” Allen said to the interviewer. “Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that,” he said.
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He said that “there was no logic” in Dylan Farrow’s allegations, that she said happened when she was seven-year-old. Talking about his relationship with his former partner, he said that his association with Mia Farrow was “never going to be a marital” one.
While Allen said that his relationship with Previn was “very natural”, he reinstated his “innocence” by saying that the couple was allowed to adopt two girls.
“They don’t give two baby girls to someone they think is a pedophile,” Allen said.
Allen called Dylan Farrow a “good kid” and said that she was coaxed into imagining abuse at his hands. He stressed that she was made to believe the assaults.
Allen v. Farrow features various family members of Mia Farrow claiming to have witnessed “disturbing encounters” between Allen and Dylan Farrow.
Allen v. Farrow is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in India.