Woody Allen's daughter details how she was sexually abused by him in the NYT

[Croatia]

People keep saying it happened a long time, it has already been addressed.. Actually it hasn't because when everything happened Dylan was a little girl, she couldn't defend herself. She's probably bringing it up now because she's an adult, who has had some psychiatric help and who feels ready to talk about it. I think she has the right to do so and shouldn't be judge for that.

As for the, she could go to Court, I don't know if she could because she already has been involved in a trial and it was messy so she probably doesn't want to go through that again.

Iluvmybags, first of all you're a very lucky woman, love your story with our husband What really bothers me with Woody Allen is not that much the age difference than it is the family relationship. They may not have blood ties but he is the father of her siblings, he has known her since she was a little girl, you shouldn't "fell in love" with your kids are children your are raising as your kids. I don't remember where but Allen's son said "he's married to my sister", it's just wrong. A family friend is not a father..

As for the, no one in the industry has ever complained.. It doesn't prove anything, for the british tv guy (cant remember his name) all the dirt came out when he died so who knows what's really happening.

I believe her, I think that there are things you can't make up not to mention that he's your father. Now she's 27, if her mother had told her to say that, she would have told the truth by now.

But I agree with Iluvmybags, this all story has nothing to do with the quality of his work, they are two separate things.

 

[nycmom]

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20784292,00.html

Dylan Farrow Speaks Out About Her Woody Allen Allegations – and the Backlash

It was a letter she wished she never had to write, about something she says she wished had never happened.

Dylan Farrow says it took all the courage she had to finally pen the emotional open letter she sent to the New York Times detailing her claim that her adoptive father, Woody Allen, had sexually molested her as a child, she exclusively tells PEOPLE.

"It took all of my strength and all of my emotional fortitude to do what I did this week in the hope that it would put the truth out there," says Dylan, 28, now a happily married writer. "That is my only ammunition. I don't have money or publicists or limos or fancy apartments in Manhattan. All I have is the truth and that is all I put out there."

When she spoke out for the first time about the allegations of abuse in Vanity Fair's October issue, her comments were overshadowed by the revelation that her brother Ronan, 26, might be the biological child of Frank Sinatra instead of Allen, which left her feeling "that no one cared," says a family friend.

Dylan says she thought long and hard about coming forward with her story in her own words. In her Feb. 1 letter, she expounded on the allegations she made in Vanity Fair, saying, "For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn't like."

Allen, 78, has vehemently denied any abuse, with his rep telling PEOPLE, "Mr. Allen has read the article and found it untrue and disgraceful."

Throughout a criminal investigation and bitter custody battle in 1992 and 1993, Allen maintained that he never molested Dylan and accused Dylan's mother, Mia Farrow, of coaching Dylan to repeat a false story. Farrow has always emphatically denied that.

In the end, Allen was never charged with molestation. In what was deemed a controversial move, then-Connecticut state's attorney Frank S. Maco announced in 1993 that while he found "probable cause" to prosecute Allen, he was dropping the case because Dylan was too "fragile" to deal with a trial that would further "traumatize" her. Mia, 68, agreed with the decision, he said. But a panel of investigators from Yale-New Haven Hospital consulted during the investigation concluded that Dylan confused fantasy with reality and had not been abused.

Answering Her Critics

Dylan says she knew she would be taking on one of the most powerful and esteemed forces in Hollywood. Indeed, some of Allen's defenders claim she wrote the letter – during awards season, no less – to sabotage her father, whose film Blue Jasmine is nominated for three Oscars. Others have said she wrote it to vindicate her mother. (Mia did not see the piece before it ran, a family friend says.)

"I've been hearing that a lot," says Dylan. "I'm happy to answer that. My intention in writing that piece was to put the truth on paper from a voice that was not able to speak before."

"People are saying that I am not actually remembering what I remember. People are saying that my 'evil mother' brainwashed me because they refuse to believe that my sick, evil father would ever molest me, because we live in this society where victim blaming and inexcusable behavior – this taboo against shaming the famous at the expense of their victims – is accepted and excused."

Her Turning Point

A turning point for her came on Jan. 12, the night of the Golden Globes, when Woody Allen received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, which his longtime friend, Diane Keaton, accepted on his behalf.

Dylan says that she had wanted to share her side of the story for a long time. But, she tells PEOPLE, "After the Golden Globes, my brother Ronan showed immense bravery for standing up for the family and I realized it was my turn to stand up and to tell the truth."

On Jan. 12, Ronan Tweeted, "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?"

Dylan says she knew the letter would draw "backlash."

"I knew there were people saying I was a liar and that this was part of some smear campaign – some bitter vendetta of my mother's," she says. But, she adds, "I didn't realize that it was going to be a betrayal of this magnitude."

'My Brother Has Broken My Heart'

That betrayal, she says, came when her brother Moses Farrow, 36, spoke out to PEOPLE this week.

Dylan spoke to PEOPLE shortly after she learned what her brother had said. Clearly anguished, she sobbed as she said, "My brother has broken my heart. Moses divorced himself from the family a long time ago. I always missed him. I loved him and I kept him in my thoughts. These lies – this betrayal – is unfathomable to me coming from a brother I loved and cherished and grew up with," she said.

"I'm sorry," she said, apologizing for crying. "I'm shaking right now."

She paused, regained her composure and said, "He has betrayed me in the cruelest way imaginable, and betrayed my family and my mother who has loved him since day one. His betrayal is the lowest form of evil that I could ever imagine." Moses and Dylan, who were both adopted by Allen and Farrow, and their brother Ronan were at the center of a 1993 custody battle in which both sides testified about Allen's affair with Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen went on to marry in 1997. Farrow was awarded custody of Moses, Dylan and Ronan.

None of what Moses said is true, maintains Dylan. "It's lies. It's all lies." She stands by her letter, saying, "My memories are true. What happened to me as a little girl ... is my cross to bear. But I will not see my family dragged down like this. I can't stay silent when my family needs me."

She says there was a time when she adored her father. "Part of the reason why it was so hard for me to write the piece that I wrote was because once upon a time I loved my father so much."

Dylan says that when her mother heard the contents of Moses's letter, "She was stunned. She couldn't believe that he betrayed her and me and the family like this. Her reaction is on par with mine."

Farrow, who declined to respond to Moses's accusations, Tweeted, "I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it's about her truth."

A Greater Goal

Amid the sadness she feels over her shattered family and childhood memories that continue to haunt her are moments of happiness and normalcy. While she spoke to PEOPLE, her husband stood in the background, comforting her.

She says she and her husband met through an ad on The Onion. "And we have been in love ever since. Yesterday was the anniversary of our first date. It's been seven years."

"He is the most wonderful man in the world. When they say living well is the best revenge – I have that. My conscience is clean. I have told the truth. I cannot say the same for Moses."

She also has her family, who she says has always been there for her. "I love my family so much. We are a strong family. We are a loving family. We are a brave family. We are fighters. I love my mother so much."

She hopes her open letter will help sexual abuse victims come forward and seek help.

"I am hoping to help at least one person out there. And that's why I spoke out."

 

[nycmom]

Dylan came up with the accusations before the whole Soon Yi thing blew up.

I don't think thats accurate…According to her most recent Vanity Fair interview, Mia Farrow describes finding the photos first, with the attic incident (and subsequent accusations) occurring after.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/11/mia-farrow-frank-sinatra-ronan-farrow

 

[LeeLooDallasMP]

I don't think thats accurate…According to her most recent Vanity Fair interview, Mia Farrow describes finding the photos first, with the attic incident (and subsequent accusations) occurring after.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/11/mia-farrow-frank-sinatra-ronan-farrow

You are absolutely right, I typed too fast too much. Still doesn't make much of a difference (to me).

 

[nycmom]

I don't think anyone here is changing anyone elses mind. No one can help how they feel about this.

Of course everyone is entitled to their feelings…however it becomes complicated and problematic when opinion (based on emotion) is being presented as fact.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...ourt_of_public_opinion_is_now_in_session.html

Woody Allen v. Dylan Farrow

The Court of Public Opinion is now in session.

Welcome to the Court of Public Opinion. We have continued People v. Bieber (2014) so that we can instead relitigate Allen v. Farrow (1992). To be perfectly clear, the court must state up front that in the Court of Public Opinion there are no rules of evidence, no burdens of proof, no cross-examinations, and no standards of admissibility. There are no questions and also no answers. Also, please be aware that in the Court of Public Opinion, choosing silence or doubt is itself a prosecutable offense.

Look, I am as maddened as the next guy at the persistent inability of our legal system to conclusively resolve so many disputed sexual assault cases. Under the very best of circumstances, the system strains to uncover the truth. And under the strain of 20-plus years and dueling judges, the system often just buckles. I am as aware as anyone of the baked-in asymmetry that pervades a culture that encourages violence and degradation of women, and that silences their reports with shame. I am fully cognizant of the extent to which our judicial system can fail when it comes to conflicts between powerful men and powerless young girls. But in the current debate about what happened between Woody Allen and Dylan Farrow in a Connecticut farmhouse in 1992, it massively disserves and undermines the most basic goals of the legal system when we import legal concepts into what is essentially a barroom brawl. You’re pissed, good. I’m pissed, too. But this widespread litigation by hashtag, all dressed up in legal language and presumptions, isn’t getting us any closer to justice.

After Nick Kristof published Dylan Farrow’s letter detailing the abuse she experienced as a child, Aaron Bady wrote a fantastic piece for the New Inquiry about rape culture and violence to women, but he rooted it in the baffling notion that Farrow must be afforded the same “presumption of innocence” as Allen. This is a nonlegal deployment of a legal notion that sets up readers to pick sides without hearing all of the actual evidence. Kristof himself conflates the coherent legal “standard to send someone to prison [that] is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” with the completely baffling “standard to honor someone.” And while I agree with my Slate colleague Amanda Marcotte on most things, when she suggests dropping to a preponderance of the evidence standard in the “court of public opinion,” all I can think is: What evidence? What standard? What court? We haven’t seen most of the evidence. Evidence in this case has been destroyed. Experts were never cross-examined. Different judges came to different conclusions. What evidence are we weighing? What “court” are we convening here, and what are the rules of the road? Do we even take conflicting evidence into consideration? What kind of evidence is “admissible”? Calling Mia Farrow a “whore”? Calling Dylan Farrow a “*****”? Closely reading Allen’s movies? Do we consider that some of the advocates on each side are cretins? I have no idea. In the Court of Public Opinion, the one-eyed man with the most Twitter followers is king.

Let’s be clear about our terms here: You are entitled to your opinions about what happened between Allen and Farrow in 1992, and you are entitled to your accompanying opinions about whether children can be coached to lie and whether rich men transgress boundaries without consequence. Failing to have an opinion about the latter suggests you live in a hole, but failing to have an opinion about the former is not a moral lapse. You are also entitled to the many and conflicting inferences you may draw from the articles summarizing the evidence, and the articles summarizing the articles summarizing the evidence, and the statements made by the now-28-year-old Farrow herself, and by Allen responding that her accusation is “disgraceful,” and now by her brother Moses Farrow claiming that Allen is being unjustly accused. I have opinions as well.

But recognize that these are opinions and inferences, not “evidence.” They are not “cases,” and we are not adjudicating this mess in any kind of court. Recognize that dressing your personal opinions up in fancy talk of “burdens of proof” and “presumptions of innocence” helps clarify almost nothing and confuses a great deal. Mob justice often has all the trappings of an unbiased search for truth, but it’s actually just an (understandable) outpouring of rage and blame. We have statutes of limitation, not to punish complaining witnesses but because the legal system recognizes that memories and evidence are degraded over time, even as umbrage on both side burns brighter than ever.

The Court of Public Opinion is a wonderful place to be heard, to test new ideas, and an even more gratifying place to tear apart those whose opinions offend us. It rarely brings about justice for the parties in a lawsuit, however, because the Court of Public Opinion is usually more about us than them. The one thing the legal system carefully protects against is the perfect narcissism of believing that we are the only ones in the courtroom who matter. And that’s the one quality our media most often rewards.

 

[Swanky]

Revealed: Ronan Farrow's close friend Jon Lovett comes to the defense of Dylan Farrow - and insists she is no fantasist

• Former Presidential speechwriter Lovett posts documents from explosive 1993 court case
• He is close to Ronan and the Farrow family and says: 'Dylan's story has not changed in two decades. The judge found no evidence of coaching'
• 'A babysitter was so unnerved by what she caught Woody Allen doing to Dylan, his head in her lap, she sounded the first alarm', Lovett tweets
  
• Dylan penned an open letter in the New York Times on Saturday, detailing the alleged assault when she was 7 for the first time
• Former prosecutor Frank Maco who found 'probable cause' DID exist that Allen molested Dylan says: 'I hope she can understand what I did and why I did it...I hope she finds peace and solace'
• Dylan weeps today after adopted brother Moses Farrow accuses her of lying - and hits out: 'He has betrayed me in the cruelest way imaginable'
• 'I don't have money or publicists or limos or fancy apartments in Manhattan. All I have is the truth and that is all I put out there', she adds
  
• Allen has denied the claims and was never charged with any crime
  

A close friend of Ronan Farrow and former Presidential speechwriter Jon Lovett has leapt to the defense of Dylan Farrow - and insisted she is no fantasist.
Jon, 31, has unearthed the court documents from the original case accusing the Oscar-nominated director of sexual abuse against his adopted daughter.
And in a series of tweets, the speechwriter turned screenwriter defended Ronan's sister Dylan, now 28, after Allen's lawyer accused her this week of making up the accusations after being coached by her mom Mia Farrow.
He wrote: 'Dylan's story has not changed in two decades. The judge found no evidence of coaching,' before posting the documents from the 1993 court case - adding: 'But I'm close to this family, so I guess that means I'm brainwashed too. Even though everything I'm saying is in the public record.'
Jon spoke out as Dylan was today forced to hit back after her adoptive brother Moses Farrow accused her of lying, weeping to People magazine: 'He has betrayed me in the cruelest way imaginable, and betrayed my family and my mother who has loved him since day one. His betrayal is the lowest form of evil that I could ever imagine.'

Defense: Former Presidential speechwriter Jon Lovett and friend of Ronan Farrow has posted court documents online in defense of Dylan Farrow

Meanwhile, the prosecutor at the time says he hopes Dylan can 'understand' why he chose not to file charges against Allen 20 years ago - despite alleging that 'probable cause' existed that the star had molested her.
Frank Maco, the Connecticut prosecutor who feared Dylan was too fragile to put on the witness stand, spoke out after Dylan wrote a searing editorial on the assault that was alleged to have occurred when she was just seven in the New York Times.
He told Connecticut Magazine: 'I can’t comment on the substance of her letter to the New York Times, but, as the father of a child about her age, I hope she finds peace and solace.'
Mr Maco had admitted he had found that 'probable cause' existed that Dylan HAD been molested, but said this week: 'I hope she has access to my statement [of Sept. 24, 1993] so she can understand what I did and why I did it.

'My words are as valid today as they were 20 years ago dealing with a traumatized seven-year-old child in the midst of sexual assault allegations.'
Allen's attorney Elan Abramowitz this week told CNN that experts at the Yale New Haven sex abuse clinic where the authorities sent the case, investigated it 'totally for six months and determined Mia coached Dylan and she was having difficulty with distinguishing fantasy and reality. They concluded the molestation did not happen.'

However, Ronan's friend Jon tweeted: 'A babysitter was so unnerved by what she caught Woody Allen doing to Dylan, his head in her lap, she sounded the first alarm,' and posted the court statement by judge Eliot Wilks that read: 'Ms.Farrow's statement to Dr. Coates that she hoped that Dylan's statements were a fantasy is inconsistent with the notion of brainwashing.
'In this regard, I also credit the testimony of Ms. Groteke, who was charged with supervising Mr Allen's August 4 visit with Dylan. She testified that she did not tell Ms. Farrow until after Dylan's statement of August 5 that Dylan and Mr Allen were unaccounted for during fifteen or twenty minutes on August 4.
'It is highly unlikely that Mr Farrow would have encouraged Dylan to accuse her father of having sexually molested her during a period in which Ms Farrow believed they were in the presence of a babysitter. However, I do not believe that Ms. Farrow would have exposed her daughter and her other children to the consequences of the Connecticut investigation and this litigation if she did not believe the possible truth of Dylan's accusation.'
The judge continued: 'In a society where children are too often betrayed by adults who ignore or disbelieve their complaints of abuse, Ms. Farrow's determination to protect Dylan is commendable.'

Powerful: Jon Lovett posted a series of strong-worded tweets in defense of Dylan Farrow

Close to the family: Jon Lovett was given access to the court documents from the explosive 1993 case

Former family: Moses is pictured front with baby Dylan in 1986. They are with, from left, their father Woody Allen, brother Fletcher Farrow, Mia Farrow and Mia's daughter Soon-Yi, who Allen went on to marry

Dylan, 28, penned an open letter in the New York Times on Sunday, alleging her adopted father had led her by the hand to a dim attic on the second floor of her mother's Connecticut house, Frog Hollow.
The artist and writer - who now goes by another name and lives with her husband in Florida - wrote 'He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set,' Miss Farrow wrote.
'Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we'd go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies.'
She went on to describe how the award-winning director of 'Annie Hall' and 'Manhattan' would always find a way to touch her and do things to her she did not like, including sticking his thumb in her mouth, forcing her to get into bed with him and placing his head in her naked lap.

'I thought this was how fathers doted on their daughters. But what he did to me in the attic felt different,' she said.
What followed next was a drawn-out process in which Dylan was dragged from one psychologist to the next, recounting her story over and over again to see if she was lying.
In the end, Allen was denied visitation rights with his children and Dylan has never seen her adoptive father since.

Mia Farrow and Allen separated after the actress found nude photographs that Allen had taken of Farrow's adopted daughter from a previous relationship, Soon-Yi Previn, when she was believed to be 19. The couple later married and now have two adopted daughters of their own.

Allen, 78, has always denied the allegations of sexual abuse against Dylan. He was never charged with, or convicted of, a crime in this case.
Allen's longtime publicist, Leslee Dart, said the director read the article 'and found it untrue and disgraceful'.
In another tweet, Jon Lovett posted a babysitter's testimony that she had seen Allen kneeling in front of Dylan, with his head in her lap.It was later noticed the little girl was not wearing any underpants.
When Mia was notified, she asked Dylan about the incident, who reportedly replied 'she didn't like it one bit' and had tried to get away but Allen was holding her around her waist.

Jon added: 'One advantage Woody Allen has in going after Dylan and Mia is a limitless supply of untrue statements. Whatever he needs to say he'll say.
'That's what makes speaking up so risky for anyone. A predator is capable of a lot, much more when threatened. It's scary.
'The power of the internet, I hope, is that powerful men like Woody Allen no longer control the story. That has to be true.'
He continued: 'It's just so sad and awful. Hopefully Dylan coming forward will help others. But making that true is up to us too. That's all.'

No fantasist: Jon Lovett says Dylan Farrow has not changed her story in two decades - and has posted court documents that allege to prove it

 

[Swanky]

Kneeling in front of Dylan: A babysitter testified she had seen Woody Allen kneeling with his head in his adopted daughter's lap during the high-profile court case

'Attack': Judge Elliot Wilks said Woody Allen's reponse to Dylan's claims of sexual abuse was 'an attack on Ms. Farrow'

The judge had also added, Jon tweeted: 'Mr Allen's response to Dylan's claims of sexual abuse was an attack upon Ms. Farrow, whose parenting ability and emotional stability he impugned wtihout the support of any significant evidence.
'His trial strategy has been to separate his children from their brothers and sisters: to turn the children against their mother: to divide adopted children from biological children...His self-absorption, his lack of judgement and his commitment to the continuation of his divisive assault, thereby impeding the healing of the injuries that he has already caused, warrant a careful monitoring of his future contact with the children.'

All of this comes just a day after Dylan Farrow's brother Moses Farrow, 36, broke his silence to dismiss his sister's claims that his father, Allen, sexually assaulted her - instead saying that their mother Mia Farrow poisoned their minds against him.
'Of course Woody did not molest my sister,' Moses, who is estranged from Dylan and Mia Farrow but remains close to his father, told People magazine.​

This prompted Dylan to reply: 'My brother is dead to me.'
Moses, like Dylan, was adopted by Allen and Farrow, but unlike his sister, he remains close to his father and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and her second husband, feted violinist André Previn.

He has not spoken to his mother in years - and blames her for Dylan's claims about sexual assault.

'My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister,' he told People magazine.
'And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.'
Moses, a family therapist, claimed that his sister was also exited to see Allen when he visited, and only started hiding from him when Mia Farrow successfully began turning her children against him.
He added that, on the day Dylan claims she was sexually assaulted by Woody, no one went into separate rooms and '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,' he added. 'Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation because to be on her wrong side was horrible.'
He said that although Mia - who has a total of 14 biological and adopted children - was portrayed as a caring mother, the reality was quite the opposite.
'I was often hit as a child,' he claimed, saying her rages were 'intimidating' and 'often horrifying'.

And today, Dylan revealed that Mia was devastated by Moses' comments, telling People: 'She was stunned. She couldn't believe that he betrayed her and me and the family like this. Her reaction is on par with mine.
'It's lies. It's all lies.'
She added: 'It took all of my strength and all of my emotional fortitude to do what I did this week in the hope that it would put the truth out there.
'That is my only ammunition. I don't have money or publicists or limos or fancy apartments in Manhattan. All I have is the truth and that is all I put out there.
"People are saying that I am not actually remembering what I remember. People are saying that my 'evil mother' brainwashed me because they refuse to believe that my sick, evil father would ever molest me, because we live in this society where victim blaming and inexcusable behavior – this taboo against shaming the famous at the expense of their victims – is accepted and excused.'
She said she was prompted to speak out after Allen received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, which his longtime friend, Diane Keaton, accepted on his behalf on January 12 - leading to her mother and brother's angry tweets.

She stands by her letter, saying: 'My memories are true. What happened to me as a little girl ... is my cross to bear. But I will not see my family dragged down like this. I can't stay silent when my family needs me.'
Having been with her husband for seven years, she enthused: 'He is the most wonderful man in the world. When they say living well is the best revenge – I have that. My conscience is clean. I have told the truth. I cannot say the same for Moses.'

Defense: In a tweet on Tuesday, Mia Farrow said the issue was not about her relationship with Woody Allen

Paying tribute to her family, she said they were strong, loving and brave - adding she hoped her letter would help sexual abuse victims seek help.
'I am hoping to help at least one person out there. And that's why I spoke out,' she said.
in response to the firestorm, Mia Farrow, tweeted: 'I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it's about her truth.'
The continued swipes on Wednesday came as TMZ unearthed a 1976 interview with People magazine in which Allen described a hypothetical orgy involving him and 15 12-year-old girls.
Then 41, Allen said: 'I'm open-minded about sex. I'm not above reproach; if anything, I'm below reproach. I mean, if I was caught in a love nest with fifteen 12-year-old girls tomorrow, people would think, yeah, I always knew that about him.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...arrow-insists-no-fantasist.html#ixzz2sasI5fBs

 

[Designed_One]

^ Thanks for posting. Very insightful information that I haven't previously seen or read.

 

[Cocolo]

I've followed this story over the years & have read this entire thread. Its funny how some people say that Woody Allen gets a "pass" because he's a famous movie director/actor or think this is why he hadn't been prosecuted for his "crimes", yet it sure looks like he's been persecuted over & over again. The court of public opinion swears he's guilty, calling him a criminal, a pervert, a pedophile & more. Nearly all of the comments in this thread alone point to his guilt, so I don't see where he's getting a "pass"

People say he's undeserving of recognition & rewards for his work because of these accusations. I have to say that I disagree. These accusations & stories have to do with his private life, not his professional one. I've never heard an actress or co-worker (in the movie business) make any kind of accusations against him. I've never read that he used sexual coercion or did anything criminal during the making of any of his movies. If he weren't in the public eye - if he were, say, a lawyer or a real estate agent or a construction worker or a small business owner - would it be any of our business? If he excelled in any of those professions & deserved recognition, should his personal life interfere & prevent him from being recognized for doing a good job? Why shouldn't he be recognized for his contribution to the movie/entertainment business because of something that he's been accused of in his personal life? The two are separate & should remain separate. Would any of us want our personal life to have an affect on our accomplishments at work?

As for the accusations against him, here's my two cents, for what its worth --

There was a 25 year age difference between my husband & I. We had been married for more than 25 years when he passed away. We lived together for 2 years before we got married. I was 20 when we got married, 18 when we moved in together - you do the math. The relationship didn't begin with our moving in together. My husband was also a gymnastics coach & I was one of his former gymnasts. I had known him - and my family had known him - for years.

As a result of our marriage, we have two beautiful children, an amazing granddaughter & a lifetime of happy memories. Was our marriage perfect? No, it was typical of almost every other married couple. We had our ups & downs, but for the most part, we were happy & in love. I never felt like a victim. I never thought of my husband as a pedophile or a criminal. I never saw anything wrong with our relationship - it wasn't "icky" or "gross" - we were just two people who fell in love under very unusual circumstances. Our friends & family accepted it because we were happy & weren't hurting anyone (although it took some longer than others to finally accept it). My husband was also a fireman for 30 years & was honored with various awards & recognition. He was admired & looked up to & spoken of highly by his co-workers & those who's lives he helped & saved. His personal life never interfered with his professional one. He also made jokes about himself & comments that to us & our friends were funny & silly, and weren't indicative of his "sexual choices or preferences".

My husband's ex-wife, however, thought otherwise. They had 2 daughters together & she did her best to drive a wedge between them & kept them out of our lives. On the day my father died, when we were supposed to be visiting him at the hospital, my husband was sitting in the police station defending himself against accusations that he sexually assaulted his younger daughter. She later admitted that she made the whole thing up, but wanted to keep her mother happy & put an end to this battle between them. When my husband died, he was estranged from his daughters. They are now very much a part of our lives. My daughter & his older daughter have the kind of sisterly relationship my husband always hoped they would have. She & I have had more than a few talks & she's shared only some of the things that her mother used to tell them when they were little. How she made sure they were afraid of their father & never wanted to see him (some of it, she says, is too painful & she doesn't want to hurt me by telling me now). They were deprived of a relationship with their father - a man who loved them dearly & fought until his heart was broken & he just couldn't do it anymore, to see them & be a part of their lives.

Just because Woody Allen married Soon Yi, doesn't automatically mean that he's a pedophile & that he sexually abused his daughter Dylan. Of course it makes it easier for people to believe Dylan & Mia & Rowan's accusations because that happened. And while I don't agree with everything Barbara Walters said on THE VIEW, I get the point she was trying to make - they have been in a long, committed relationship that appears to be stable, and they have two children together. If she's a friend of theirs, she's seen things the public hasn't seen & probably knows things we don't know as well. While I understood Sheri Shepherd's opinion, she doesn't have personal knowledge of this situation and is basing her opinion on what she's read & heard.

This whole thing is messy & sad & there are no winners. I'm sure the Golden Globes decision to honor Woody with a lifetime achievement award stirred up a lot of feelings & emotions from all those involved, but I disagree with how its been handled. This is a private family matter. While I sympathize with Dylan - and I agree, she may very well believe this to be the truth - I don't agree or see the point in writing an open letter to the public about this. Its not our business, and the recognition he received for his professional life should not be affected by accusations in his personal life, especially when the accusations were made so long ago & investigated. Mia Farrow herself said she didn't want to subject her daughter to a long drawn out legal mess. So what was the point to the open letter other than to shame Woody Allen at a time he should be celebrating his professional accomplishment? Most of the public made their mind up about Woody Allen long ago. We didn't need Dylan's letter or Rowan's tweets to remind us now or change our minds. Did anyone stop to think what all this could be doing to the children he has with Soon Yi? They were carrying on with the lives, mostly in private & now all of a sudden, they've been thrust into the spotlight & are being talked about in the media & public.

I know many will disagree with me, many will raise their eyebrows and shake their heads in disgust. We all have an opinion and feelings on this subject, some based on our own personal experiences. Many of you shared yours, these are mine.

Sorry for your loss, but at the time your relationship started, was he the father of some of your mother's other children? Was he, according to a younger gymnast who was his adopted daughter, abusing her? If you answer no to these questions, then congratulations on a long and happy marriage, and I'm very sorry you are living without him. But what the Woodster did to Dylan was absolutely unconscionable, and to those who say 'Why did she come out of nowhere with these rehashed accusations'. She did so because she is no longer a little child afraid. And he was just handed a lifetime achievement award. In addition to a sexual deviant and child abuser, he is a thief. He stole her childhood, her trust and her innocence.

 

[basicandorganic]

Arguing semantics and trivializing much? LOL, yeah okay.....

Exactly... people need to look at the big picture. It looks bad. Things don't usually look this bad. It's been proven time and time again that where there's smoke, there's fire. These kind of people get worse and worse as time goes on, more and more daring. (See: Ian Watkins) It's just going to be another Saville, IMO.

When are we going to stop automatically dismissing the victim, even if it means grasping for straws?


That entire article Swanky posted... christ. It's been reiterated again and again that PR was spun by WA, people were paid off, that no one was found "coached" yet people repeat the same "misinformation" again and again. It makes no sense to me.

 

[Ladybug09]

Arrrrgh, I'm gonna need people to stay away from the tweeting.

 

[simona7]

So, to those of you that defend WA. Is the babysitter a liar too? She was coached by Mia as well?
Everyone is a liar except WA? Please... connect the dots. His past quotes, his behavior, his marriage... all are consistent.

 

[FreeSpirit71]

Thanks for posting that Swanky. I've stayed away from posting on this thread because I knew it was going to get heated. But I always believed Dylan and that's some pretty damning evidence posted by Jon Lovett.

I've been following the thread and I agree with other posters that have said it doesn't matter about how much notoriety or celebrity either parent had. What matters is at the centre of this is a girl who was abused. I think Mia, despite what others have said, was acting in her daughter's best interests.

To watch her, the victim, now being put under the spotlight in this manner is just awful. It only makes me feel that this is why many victims don't come forward. The spotlight gets turned on them: what did they do? They're lying, they were coached etc.. They get assaulted all over again.

The only person at fault here is her abuser. And good on Mia and Ronan and Jon for having the guts to take on her fight for her.

 

[Mimi2000]

Maybe someone here knows the answer. If Mia is such a horrible parent, allegedly coaching her daughter to accuse an alleged innocent man of rape, why was she awarded custody of the kids from WA? I'm sure WA put up a good fight to try to keep his kids from her. With all his power and money, why did he not get the kids?

 

[nycmom]

Exactly... people need to look at the big picture. It looks bad. Things don't usually look this bad. It's been proven time and time again that where there's smoke, there's fire. These kind of people get worse and worse as time goes on, more and more daring. (See: Ian Watkins) It's just going to be another Saville, IMO.

I absolutely agree with you, as I stated from the beginning, as awful as it sounds the best thing that could happen for Dylan is to have additional victims come forward because if the allegations are true its almost certain there are more.

That entire article Swanky posted... christ. It's been reiterated again and again that PR was spun by WA, people were paid off, that no one was found "coached" yet people repeat the same "misinformation" again and again. It makes no sense to me.

However I do have to take issue with this. Any accusation may be reiterated from one side or another but that doesn't make it true. (For example, there was an earlier post of a photo of Allen with his daughter Bechet, not Soon Yi as a child as assumed, because it was found it on the internet. And another post claiming Allen went on to adopt two Asian daughters, again untrue).

Presenting rumors as facts is dangerous and in fact does a terrible disservice to Dylan, who by any definition and without a doubt is the victim in this situation, no matter what happened on that particular day in 1992.

Maybe someone here knows the answer. If Mia is such a horrible parent, allegedly coaching her daughter to accuse an alleged innocent man of rape, why was she awarded custody of the kids from WA? I'm sure WA put up a good fight to try to keep his kids from her. With all his power and money, why did he not get the kids?

Here is a synopsis of the ruling...

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/02/23/reviews/farrow-verdict.html

and here is the Yale-New Haven Report the Judge refers to …

http://amradaronline.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/yale-new-haven-hospital-allen.pdf