Mia Farrow understands if actors want to continue to collaborate with Woody Allen. That’s surprising, given the history between the two; their 12-year romantic relationship concluded after Farrow discovered nude pics of her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn that Allen had taken. Following their split, things got worse. Farrow and Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan, then 7, made allegations of molestation against the Academy Award-winning filmmaker.
While appearing on CBS Sunday Mornings on September 1, journalist Seth Doane asked Farrow:
“Are you able to separate the experience as an actor in those films from the personal trials and tribulations that would follow?”
Farrow responded:
“Oh yeah, yeah.I com pletely understand if an actor decides to work with him. I’m not one who’d say, ‘Oh, they shouldn’t.'”
While the Connecticut State Attorney’s Office investigated the allegation made by Dylan and her mother, they never formally pressed charges. Following the allegation (which became public during a contentious custody battle between Allen and Farrow), Allen continued to work in Hollywood as a prominent filmmaker, adding acclaimed films like Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Deconstructing Harry, Match Point, Midnight in Paris, and Blue Jasmine to his already impressive list of credits (that included Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Radio Days).
Actors Decry Woody Allen
In 2014, the sexual molestation allegation against Allen became headline news again after he was honored at the Golden Globes Awards ceremony. In response to Allen’s recognition, son Ronan Farrow tweeted about the past allegation, and the following month, a letter from Dylan was published in The New York Times. In the piece, Dylan detailed her claims of abuse against Allen and called out some of the actors who worked with Allen.
In the following years, largely due to the Times Up and #MeToo movements, actors and audiences became more aware of the allegations surrounding Allen. Select actors and audiences began to take a stance against the filmmaker. Collaborators like Kate Winslet, Colin Firth, Greta Gerwig, Timothée Chalamet, and Rebecca Hall publicly lamented working with Allen. Chalamet and Hall even donated the wages earned from their Allen collaborations to the Time’s Up Movement.
Of course, there are also a number of actors who have come to Allen’s defense, including Rifkin’s Festival actors Wallace Shawn and Gina Gershon. Johansson, who worked with Allen on Match Point, Scoop, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that she loved Allen, believed him, and “would work with him anytime.” Johansson’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona co-star Javier Bardem has also stood by Allen, sharing that “pointing fingers at someone is very dangerous if it hasn’t been legally proven. Beyond that, it’s just gossip.”
Before their tumultuous separation, Farrow and Allen made 13 films together, beginning with 1982’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy and concluding with 1992’s Husbands and Wives. Allen married Soon-Yi in 1997; the two are still married and share two daughters. Allen maintains his innocence regarding the claims made by Farrow and Dylan.
Allen vs. Farrow
, a four-part docuseries that premiered in 2021 and provides a look behind the years of sensational headlines to reveal the private story of the accusation of sexual abuse against Allen, is available to stream on Max.
