Last week, Dylan Farrow wrote a letter to the New York Times outlining allegations of sexual abuse against her "adoptive" father, Woody Allen. Although Allen's lawyer initially rubbished the claims, the director insisted he would respond in full.
Over the weekend, a response letter, written by Allen was published by the
New York Times, dismissing the claims of abuse and essentially alleging that Mia Farrow was an instigator in the entire affair.
Allen begins the letter declaring:
"TWENTY-ONE years ago, when I first heard Mia Farrow had accused me of child molestation, I found the idea so ludicrous I didn’t give it a second thought. We were involved in a terribly acrimonious breakup, with great enmity between us and a custody battle slowly gathering energy. The self-serving transparency of her malevolence seemed so obvious I didn’t even hire a lawyer to defend myself. It was my show business attorney who told me she was bringing the accusation to the police and I would need a criminal lawyer."
Allen also claims he took a "lie detector test" during the allegations to prove that he had not assaulted Dylan. He also outlines a ruling that found
"that Dylan was not sexually abused by Mr. Allen."
The director also outlines his attempts to keep in contact with Dylan, but alleges that all forms of communications were shut down by his former partner.
Allen finishes the letter with: "
Of course, I did not molest Dylan. I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter’s well-being. Being taught to hate your father and made to believe he molested you has already taken a psychological toll on this lovely young woman, and Soon-Yi and I are both hoping that one day she will understand who has really made her a victim and reconnect with us, as Moses has, in a loving, productive way. No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing. (This piece will be my final word on this entire matter and no one will be responding on my behalf to any further comments on it by any party. Enough people have been hurt.)"
You can read the entire letter on the
New York Times website. This is apparently Woody Allen's last comment on the allegations.
