You know what’s confusing to me? Majority of Hollywood actors were quick to take down disgraced producer and sexual abuser Harvey Weinstein, but there are still some who defend director Woody Allen.
Allen had been accused of going after women who are younger than him. He left his ex-wife Mia Farrow in 1992 so he could marry her adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn, who Allen met when she was only 10 years old.
In 2014, adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow released an open letter detailing how she’d been sexually abused by Allen when she was seven years old, which the director denied. Model Babi Christina Engelbardt also alleged that Allen pursued her when she was only 16 and that they were together for eight years. She said the director used their relationship for the storyline of the 1979 film “Manhattan,” which is a romantic film about a 17-year-old woman dating an older man played by Woody Allen.
Despite these accusations and the rise of the #MeToo movement, Woody Allen is still considered a “respected” director. In fact, many celebrities who have worked with him have continued starring in his films and also said he’s innocent. Others like Ellen Page and Greta Gerwig have changed their stances, and Timothée Chalamet donated his salary from “A Rainy Day in New York” to Time’s Up, RAINN, and the LGBT Center in New York.
Here’s a quick rundown of what some Woody Allen defenders have said and why they believe he did nothing wrong.
Jeff Goldblum
Woody Allen movie: “Annie Hall” (1977)
“I think there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” Jeff Goldblum told i News earlier this month. “Even though I feel like this cultural shift [the #MeToo movement] is very, very positive and long overdue and I support it wholeheartedly and take it very seriously, I also admire his body of work. So I would consider working with him again, until I learned something more.”
Scarlett Johansson
Woody Allen movie: “Match Point” (2005), “Scoop” (2006), “Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
“How do I feel about Woody Allen? I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime,” Scarlett Johansson told The Hollywood Reported last August. Dylan Farrow criticized her for supporting the director while championing the #MeToo movement.
Kate Winslet
Woody Allen movie: “Wonder Wheel” (2017)
Kate Winslet has praised, defended, and stepped away from the Woody Allen conversation multiple times. She told The New York in Times in September 2017, “I didn’t know Woody and I don’t know anything about that family. As the actor in the film, you just have to step away and say, I don’t know anything, really, and whether any of it is true or false. Having thought it all through, you put it to one side and just work with the person.”
In December 2017, Winslet said in a roundtable interview with Margot Robbie and Jessica Chastain, “Woody Allen is an extraordinary writer. He’s obviously known for having created extraordinary roles, very very powerful and complicated roles for women, for many many years.”
Justin Timberlake
Woody Allen movie: “Wonder Wheel” (2017)
Business Insider reported that Justin Timberlake said working with Allen in 2017 was “a dream come true.” A year later, he told The Hollywood Reporter, “I chose to not get into it.” This comes after Dylan Farrow and Rose McGowan criticized him for supporting the director despite claiming he’s a Time’s Up advocate.
Kristen Stewart
Woody Allen Movie: “Cafe Society” (2016)
“I was like, ‘What do you think? We don’t know any of these people involved. I can personalize situations, which would be very wrong.’ At the end of the day, Jesse [Eisenberg] and I talked about this. If we were persecuted for the amount of shit that’s been said about us that’s not true, our lives would be over. The experience of making the movie was so outside of that, it was fruitful for the two of us to go on with it,” Kristen Stewart told Variety in 2016. Jesse Eisenberg later said he didn’t remember this conversation.
Vulture also took a jab at Stewart, saying she’s tone-deaf for “likening the accusations to tabloid fodder.”
Blake Lively
Woody Allen Movie: “Cafe Society” (2016)
In 2016, Blake Lively told the LA Times she didn’t want to comment on Dylan Farrow’s accusations because she hadn’t read the open letter. “It’s very dangerous to factor in things you don’t know anything about. I could [only] know my experience. And my experience with Woody is he’s empowering to women.”
Diane Keaton
Woody Allen Movie: “Annie Hall” (1977)
“I have nothing to say about that (Dylan Farrow’s accusations). Except: I believe my friend,” Diane Keaton told The Guardian in 2014 when asked about her friendship with Woody Allen and the controversies surrounding him.
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It’s interesting to see how many of them choose to work with Woody Allen again because they claim the accusations aren’t enough to convince them otherwise. Why? Because he doesn’t have the same influence as Harvey Weinstein? Because Allen isn’t accused of sexual misconduct and abuse by over 80 women?
The director’s son Ronan Farrow admitted in The Hollywood Reporter how difficult it has been for his sister to get her story out and to shed light on their father’s inappropriate behavior. “The allegations were never backed by a criminal conviction. This is important. It should always be noted. But it is not an excuse for the press to silence victims, to never interrogate allegations. Indeed, it makes our role more important when the legal system so often fails the vulnerable as they face off against the powerful,” he wrote.
It’s an all too familiar narrative where men hide behind their fame and power to skirt accountability. It also doesn’t help that equally influential people are backing Allen up, giving him more opportunities to make films and not face the consequences of his actions.
Don’t get us wrong: We’re not cancelling the celebrities who are defending him. We believe there’s time for them to think about the situation and change their minds. If there’s anyone who deserves to lose credibility for good, it’s Woody Allen.
Photo courtesy of @apropositodiwoodyallen’s Instagram account
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