Dylan Farrow asks why Woody Allen, who she's accused of sexual abuse, has been 'spared'

Show Caption Hide Caption Dylan Farrow: Why has Woody Allen been spared from allegations Woody Allen’s daughter Dylan Farrow is asking why her father has been spared in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the subsequent #MeToo movement.

In a Los Angeles Times Op-Ed Thursday, Dylan Farrow is asking why the spotlight that's fallen on other Hollywood men accused of sexual assault hasn't been focused on her adoptive father, actor-filmmaker Woody Allen.

The title of the piece penned by Farrow, whose mom is actress Mia Farrow and whose brother Ronan Farrow has been investigating Hollywood's harassment problem, gets right to her point: Why has the #MeToo revolution spared Woody Allen?

"I have long maintained that when I was 7 years old, Woody Allen led me into an attic, away from the babysitters who had been instructed never to leave me alone with him. He then sexually assaulted me," Dylan writes. "I told the truth to the authorities then, and I have been telling it, unaltered, for more than 20 years."

She continues, going into further details of Allen's alleged transgressions.

"Allen’s pattern of inappropriate behavior — putting his thumb in my mouth, climbing into bed with me in his underwear, constant grooming and touching — was witnessed by friends and family members. At the time of the alleged assault, he was in therapy for his conduct towards me," she writes. "Three eyewitnesses substantiated my account, including a babysitter who saw Allen with his head buried in my lap after he had taken off my underwear."

Allen has repeatedly denied Dylan's allegations. In a statement to USA TODAY through rep Leslee Dart, Allen again called the allegations false.

“Dylan Farrow’s allegations against Woody Allen, which she first made 25 years ago, have been thoroughly examined by law enforcement officials and child welfare investigators. The investigators concluded unambiguously that Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused. No charges were ever filed, and the reason is simple: because Woody Allen is innocent.”

Dylan accused Allen of molesting her in a letter published in The New York Times in 2014, the year Allen was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes.

The case originally made headlines in 1993. That September, Connecticut state attorney Frank Maco decided against prosecuting Allen, saying that although he had probable cause, he did not wish to inflict any further anguish on Dylan by making her testify. Farrow was awarded custody of her adopted children with Allen, and he was denied visitation rights.

In her Op-Ed, Dylan calls attention to what she feels is a hypocrisy. "Why is it that Harvey Weinstein and other accused celebrities have been cast out by Hollywood, while Allen recently secured a multimillion-dollar distribution deal with Amazon, greenlit by former Amazon Studios executive Roy Price before he was suspended over sexual misconduct allegations?" she says. "Allen’s latest feature, Wonder Wheel, was released theatrically on Dec. 1."

One of the film's actors, Justin Timberlake, spoke at Wednesday's Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment breakfast. His co-star Kate Winslet decided not to thank Weinstein during her 2009 Oscars speech, explaining to the Los Angles Times in a piece published in October, "If people aren’t well-behaved, why would I thank him?” However, she called Allen "an incredible director" in an interview with The New York Times from September. Along with Winslet, Dylan called out other actresses who have worked with her father including Greta Gerwig and Blake Lively.

Dylan writes, "It breaks my heart when women and men I admire work with Allen, then refuse to answer questions about it. It meant the world to me when Ellen Page said she regretted working with Allen, and when actresses Jessica Chastain and Susan Sarandon told the world why they never would."

Dylan also says that the public is in some ways complicit.

"It isn’t just power that allows men accused of sexual abuse to keep their careers and their secrets," she writes. "It is also our collective choice to see simple situations as complicated and obvious conclusions as a matter of 'who can say'? The system worked for Harvey Weinstein for decades. It works for Woody Allen still."

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