VENICE, ITALY: Woody Allen has set his record straight regarding his probable encounter with his daughter-turned-accuser and her brother. The 'Annie Hall' director confirmed that he is ready to meet Dylan Farrow and her brother, Ronan, while maintaining his innocence concerning the allegations brought upon by the 38-year-old writer.
During an interview at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, the 87-year-old was asked about the 30-year-old alleged incident where Dylan blamed him for molesting her inside Mia Farrow’s Bridgewater, Connecticut home in August 1992.
What did Woody Allen say in response?
The Academy Award Winner clearly stated his adopted daughter’s allegations are “meritless.” He also said that allegations were “investigated meticulously” and that the detectives concluded he did not molest his adopted daughter who was seven at that time.
“The situation has been investigated by two people, two major bodies, not people, but two major investigative bodies,” Allen told Variety. “And both, after long detailed investigations, concluded there was no merit to these charges.”
“There was nothing to it,” he continued. “The fact that it lingers on always makes me think that maybe people like the idea that it lingers on. You know, maybe there’s something appealing to people. But why? Why?”
“I don’t know what you can do besides having it investigated, which they did so meticulously,” the 'Annie Hall' director added. “One [investigation] was less than a year and the other one was many months. And they spoke to everybody concerned and, you know, both came to the exact same conclusion.”
Allen says he is always ready to meet the accusers
Allen also reportedly claimed that he is “always willing” to meet with Dylan and Ronan despite the former’s allegations against him.“No,” the filmmaker said when asked if he had ever come across Dylan and Ronan since the sex abuse accusations. “Always willing to, but no.”
What did Allen say about the #MeToo Movement and cancel culture?
Allen said that he is an advocate of the #MeToo Movement and also added that he considers the current cancel culture that is taking place to be 'silly'. “I feel if you’re going to be canceled, this is the culture to be canceled by,” he said when asked whether he felt he had been canceled. “I just find that all so silly. I don’t think about it. I don’t know what it means to be canceled.”
“I know that over the years everything has been the same for me,” Allen continued. “I make my movies. What has changed is the presentation of the films. You know, I work and it’s the same routine for me. I write the script, raise the money, make the film, shoot it, edit it, it comes out.”
“The difference is not from cancel culture,” he added. “The difference is the way they present the films. It’s that that’s the big change.”
X users react to Woody Allen's claims
X users also reacted after the filmmaker made the claims. One user opined, "Woody Allen was investigated for 14 months by the police. They did not find anything to hold him accountable for. He's innocent." Another echoed, "Yes, Woody Allen was declared innocent. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t make people uncomfortable."
While one tweeted, "Woody Allen never molested anyone and he married a woman who was of course neither his daughter, adopted daughter or stepdaughter. Stop accusing innocent people of invented crimes and get a life!", another wrote, "Woody Allen wasn't even charged. Even a 14 month police investigation came up empty. He was innocent then and will remain so."
"Woody Allen is no a problematic man. He has no criminal convictions, he's an innocent man whose good name and honor must be respected. Unless you decide to be savages and not live in a society with rules," tweeted one user.
