Woody Allen And Soon-Yi Previn Issued A Statement Condemning The Documentary “Allen Vs Farrow”
Last night, the first of a four-part documentary series, Allen vs Farrow, aired on HBO so naturally, Woody Allen did the right thing by removing himself from society and quietly skipped town under the cover of night to live a hermit on an undisclosed, unpopulated island so no one would ever have to see or hear from him again. The end. Only, of course (OF COURSE!) that’s not what happened. Instead, he and his wife Soon-Yi Previn issued a joint statement, condemning the project as a “hatchet job riddled with falsehoods.” Sadly, no end is in sight.
Allen vs Farrow is a documentary series from filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick whose previous documentary, On the Record, focused on the abuse allegations against Russell Simmons, and also aired on HBO. AvF features Woody’s adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow’s account of the alleged grooming and eventual molestation she endured in 1992 at the age of 7. It also features Dylan’s mom Mia Farrow’s recollections from that time. Christina Engelhardt also appears in the doc and claims to have been in a sexual relationship with Woody, beginning when she was 16 and he was 42 and was still with Mia. According to The Hollywood Reporter:
Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn have broken their silence over HBO’s Allen v. Farrow, describing the docuseries as a “hatchet job riddled with falsehoods.”
Allen v. Farrow features unprecedented access with Dylan and Mia Farrow, interviews from Fletcher and Daisy Previn (two of Mia’s children with her late ex-husband André Previn), and testimonies from Farrow family friends Casey Pascal and Priscilla Gilma, who corroborate the inappropriate behavior between Allen and Dylan, then a child, that is described by the mother-daughter pair.
Dylan’s brother and staunch defender Ronan Farrow is also featured in the doc. Here’s Woody and Soon-Yi’s statement in full, via Variety:
“These documentarians had no interest in the truth. Instead, they spent years surreptitiously collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers to put together a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods. Woody and Soon-Yi were approached less than two months ago and given only a matter of days ‘to respond.’ Of course, they declined to do so.
“As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false. 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. 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.”
OK, but let’s get real. Woody’s had plenty of time (and an entire book) to respond to the accusations. In fact, the documentary even uses his own words, in the form of excerpts from his book, Apropos of Nothing, to help paint Woody as a ridiculous, disgusting, inappropriate creep. So he’s right about one thing, this documentary does not change the facts!
Pic: Wenn.com