Before Dylan Farrow’s open letter in the New York Times begins, there’s a letter from the editor. It reads in part, “In 1993, accusations that Woody Allen had abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, filled the headlines, part of a sensational story about the celebrity split between Allen and his girlfriend, Mia Farrow.” Allen was never officially charged, and to quote Nicholas Kristof, he “deserves the presumption of innocence.” So why have Dylan write about what happened now? Well, partly because “the Golden Globe lifetime achievement award to Allen ignited a debate about the propriety of the award,” but mostly because, we haven’t heard Dylan’s side of the story, until now.
What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? (Via)
Well, I’m thinking The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, but sometimes, it’s Scoop. Thanks for asking!
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. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains. (Via)
I feel kind of bad about that Jade Scorpion answer now.
For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me…
Woody Allen is a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
So imagine your seven-year-old daughter being led into an attic by Woody Allen. Imagine she spends a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name. Imagine a world that celebrates her tormenter.
Are you imagining that? Now, what’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? (Via)
It’s going to be tough watching Melinda and Melinda from now on, and not just because that movie’s terrible. This ugly story’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And it shouldn’t. At least we’ve got our priorities straight.
Banner via Getty Image, via NY Times