Update: Feb 2, 4:38pm
Twenty-two years haven’t erased the tarnishing legacy of accusations levied against Woody Allen for allegedly molesting his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. Two weeks after the director was awarded a Golden Globe for lifetime achievement, Farrow has come forward and given an account of the alleged sexual abuse and its impact on her life since the 1992 scandal broke.
The director has never been convicted of child abuse, and the veracity of Farrow’s claims have been the subject of some debate, with a panel of psychiatrists siding with Allen and a judge ruling in favor of Farrow and her mother in a custody battle.
Allen’s attorney released a statement on Sunday: “It is tragic that after 20 years a story engineered by a vengeful lover resurfaces after it was fully vetted and rejected by independent authorities. The one to blame for Dylan’s distress is neither Dylan nor Woody Allen.”
In her statement to the New York Times, Farrow retells the story of her alleged abuse and explains how she’s struggled with Allen’s continuing stardom. She writes:
That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up. I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls. I was terrified of being touched by men. I developed an eating disorder. I began cutting myself.
That torment was made worse by Hollywood. All but a precious few (my heroes) turned a blind eye. Most found it easier to accept the ambiguity, to say, “who can say what happened,” to pretend that nothing was wrong. Actors praised him at awards shows. Networks put him on TV. Critics put him in magazines. Each time I saw my abuser’s face — on a poster, on a T-shirt, on television — I could only hide my panic until I found a place to be alone and fall apart.
You can read the full statement here.
This story was updated with a statement from Woody Allen’s attorney.