Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn Condemn ‘Allen v. Farrow’ as ‘Shoddy Hit Piece’ with ‘No Interest in the Truth’
Zack Sharf
Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn emerged shortly after the airing of the first episode of HBO’s new documentary series “Allen v. Farrow” to issue a statement condemning the network and non-fiction filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick. The four-part “Allen v. Farrow” series takes a new look into the allegations that Allen molested his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992 when she was seven years old. For the series, Ziering and Dick conducted new interviews with Mia Farrow and her children, including Dylan Farrow and Ronan Farrow.
“These documentarians had no interest in the truth,” Allen and Previn’s joint statement reads (via THR). “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.”
The statement continues, “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.”
Allen and Previn’s statement arrived after just after “Allen v. Farrow” kicked off its four-episode run on HBO. The first episode of the docuseries primarily serves as a prelude to the assault allegation, walking viewers through how Allen and Mia Farrow met and began a decade-long relationship. She had seven kids when they started dating, and Allen, by his own admission, didn’t want anything to do with them. Then Mia adopted Dylan, and everything changed.
Per IndieWire’s review, “In new interviews, Dylan remembers always being in her father’s ‘clutches’ and how his singular attention for her felt like “hunting.” Dylan’s brothers, Ronan Farrow and Fletcher Previn, corroborate these memories, as do babysitters, friends, and more relatives. They also discuss witnessing Allen’s disturbing behavior with Dylan, much of it previously chronicled.”
“Allen v. Farrow” airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
