Reactions to Dylan Farrow’s Open Letter
Woody Allen is suing Amazon for breach of contract. Image by Getty Images
By Anne Cohen February 2, 2014
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Dylan Farrow has renewed her allegations of sexual abuse against Woody Allen, this time, in her own words.
In an open letter published on Nick Kristoff’s New York Times blog, the adopted daughter of Allen and actress Mia Farrow (who now goes by a different name), repeated her claim that the director sexually assaulted her when she was just seven years old.
“What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me.”
The letter had scarcely been posted that reactions started to surface on Twitter:
To share in this way is courageous, powerful and generous. Please read: http://t.co/RKKREFB8hM
ampmdash; Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) February 1, 2014
Still processing, tho my voice is not what matters here. In case you still haven’t read it: http://t.co/iyAakMLPEw
ampmdash; Tavi Gevinson (@tavitulle) February 1, 2014
Brave and empowering http://t.co/sd0Z18m5xf
ampmdash; Kat Dennings (@OfficialKat) February 2, 2014
Quite a gender gap in reaction to Dylan’s essay. Many men are denouncing me for publishing it; many women thanking me for the same.
ampmdash; Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) February 2, 2014
Tavi Gavinson, editor-in-chief of Rookie Magazine, echoed the dilemma that many face when it comes to Allen and director Roman Polanski, in a long introspective rant on her Twitter feed.
I’ve loved his movies and cited them over the years but I don’t want to contribute any more to a culture that tells survivors of abuse that-
ampmdash; Tavi Gevinson (@tavitulle) February 1, 2014
-their voices do not matter or tells white men that you can sexually abuse a child and still be celebrated worldwide for your work.
ampmdash; Tavi Gevinson (@tavitulle) February 1, 2014
In her letter, Dylan appealed directly to the actors appearing in Allen’s movies, asking them not to turn a blind eye:
“What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett? Louis CK? Alec Baldwin? What if it had been you, Emma Stone? Or you, Scarlett Johansson? You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me?
Woody Allen is a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse.”
The allegations against Allen resurfaced in a 2013 Vanity Fair profile of Mia Farrow, in which the 28-year-old Dylan described the abuse.
Allen, 78 has always denied the allegations. He and Farrow split up in 1992.
A tribute to Allen at the Golden Globes and an Oscar nomination for “Blue Jasmine” have re-awakened the discussion about whether or not the iconic director is in fact a child-molestor.
During the Golden Globes ceremony for the Cecil B. DeMille Award, presented to Allen by Diane Keaton, his estranged son 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?
ampmdash; Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 13, 2014
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