Dylan Farrow wrote an open letter to Woody Allen in the New York Times, documenting his sexual abuse. It’s the first time Dylan has written publicly about the event.
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. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies…
Last week, Woody Allen was nominated for his latest Oscar. But this time, I refuse to fall apart. For so long, Woody Allen’s acceptance silenced me. It felt like a personal rebuke, like the awards and accolades were a way to tell me to shut up and go away. But the survivors of sexual abuse who have reached out to me – to support me and to share their fears of coming forward, of being called a liar, of being told their memories aren’t their memories – have given me a reason to not be silent, if only so others know that they don’t have to be silent either…
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?…
Today, Cate Blanchett washes her hands of the accusations, responding:
It’s obviously been a long and painful situation for the family and I hope they find some sort of resolution and peace
Alec Baldwin, in his typical aggressive style, also claims this mess is none of his business, Tweeting:
What the f&@% is wrong w u that u think we all need to b commenting on this family’s personal struggle?
So the sexual abuse of a seven year old child is a family matter? Funny, that’s the same claim people make about domestic violence. It’s private. Don’t get involved. Stay out. This is none of your business. I’m just curious: Whose business is it when children are sexually abused?
On Twitter, I follow Wall Street Journal writer Rachel Dodes Wortman. She ReTweeted this from Mark Harris, a journalist for EW:
A) “Innocent until proven guilty” and “All accusations are true” don’t go well together. B) I don’t know. C) YOU don’t know. So don’t guess?
To which I responded:
Do you know what happened during that trial? ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ when justice system doesnt protect?
Harris Tweets me back:
There was no trial. There was no charge.
My response:
presiding judge found evidence inconclusive, and felt that
their report had been “sanitized”and “colored by their loyalty to Mr. Allen.
I’ve received more Tweets, like these:
There’s a time that finally the world needs to step back because we can’t be helpful. We just complicate matters
If you can solve this, if you know the truth, you personally, it is your business. Otherwise you are intruding.
That you don’t see that this is not our business is your issue, not mine.
How long are we going to look the other way when children are sexually abused? Dylan’s letter is in a blog by New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof. Kristof is also the author, with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, of Half the Sky. In that book, they write:
When a prominent dissident was arrested in China, we would write a front-page article; when 100,000 girls were kidnapped and trafficked into brothels, we didn’t even consider it news.
What happened to Dylan Farrow, and girls everywhere, around the world matters. It isn’t just our business, it’s our moral imperative to listen.
Lena Dunham, creator and star of the TV show “Girls,” feels differently than Blanchett and Baldwin, Tweeting:
“To share in this way is courageous, powerful and generous.” She adds: “Grateful my timeline is full of so much love and respect for Dylan.
Is it not somehow possible to enjoy Woody Allen’s films while still acknowledging that he is a scumbag?
really appreciate your post and support of dylan…interesting that one whispered suggestion of inappropriate conduct can ruin an educator’s career, but “artists” like allen and polanski are celebrated and awarded. very discouraging– all the more reason to keep reel girling! thanks for blogging what you blog, blogger. <3
First clue there was something wrong with him: he married his adopted daughter. Just like Roman Polanski, he should be shunned.
I agree! I will not separate the person from the art when this is the kind of thing he does. What if it were me? Or my daughter? I only wish the people who could bring him to justice wouldn’t look the other way.
This is exactly why we need more women in power: women as police chiefs and in the court house, so that crimes by men against girls and women are treated seriously; more women in position of power in media, so that violence against women is treated as equally scandalous as violence against men; more women in Hollywood and game companies, to take down rape culture. Up until then women and girls will be considered less important than men and boys, and the crimes against us less ominous, by both male and female bystanders.
I agree with you. Especially in the wake of several rape cases this year where justice was not served at all, where even after public outcry demanding a trial the defendants got off with incredibly light sentences. Moreover, people need to get over the “witch hunt” and “lynch mob” analogies. People on the internet saying they believe Dylan is not either of those things. People are innocent till proven guilty in the courtroom. As a private citizen I have the right to have an opinion and to talk about it.