Woody Allen denies sexually abusing adopted daughter in newly released interview

Director Woody Allen contended during that July 2020 interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning' that there was 'no logic' to the allegation. Photo: AP

Woody Allen’s sticking to his story.

The filmmaker reiterated his denial of a sexual abuse accusation made by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow during a newly released interview conducted last summer.

Allen, who is accused of molesting Dylan when she was seven, contended during that July 2020 interview with CBS Sunday Morning that there was “no logic” to the allegation, which led to investigations in 1992.

The interview aired for the first time on March 28 on the Paramount+ streaming service, alongside a previously released interview with Dylan.

“It’s so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained, and they still prefer to cling to, if not the notion that I molested Dylan, the possibility that I molested her, ” Allen told interviewer Lee Cowan at the time. “Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that.”

Allen, 85, was never charged with a crime and has repeatedly denied the accusation, while Dylan Farrow, 35, has maintained her claim.

The accusation has received renewed attention in recent weeks due to the release of HBO’s four-part documentary series Allen V. Farrow, which examines the allegation against the filmmaker. It debuted in February and aired its final episode on March 14.

Allen told Cowan last summer that he thinks Dylan “believes” her allegation against him.

“She was a good kid and I believe she thinks it, ” Allen said during the CBS Sunday Morning sit-down. “I do not believe that she’s making it up. I don’t believe she’s lying. I believe she believes that.”

Dylan’s mother, actress Mia Farrow, was in a relationship with Allen from 1980 to 1992. Allen’s affair with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn went public in 1992, and they have been married since 1997.

In a new statement, CBS said Cowan interviewed Allen for the Sunday programme following the release of his memoir, Apropos Of Nothing.

“The interview, which occurred last summer during an active news cycle, is being presented now given the renewed interest in the controversy surrounding the filmmaker,” the network’s statement reads. “The exclusive for Paramount+ offers the ability to explore Allen, his career, and the allegations in context and with the depth that this story demands.”

Sunday’s special on Paramount+ also featured Dylan Farrow’s 2018 interview with Gayle King for CBS This Morning, in which Dylan detailed her allegation against Allen.

In a statement to Variety, Allen’s sister and spokeswoman claimed their team was unaware Paramount+ would be putting his interview back-to-back with Dylan’s and releasing it on the streaming service.

“It’s completely dishonest and scandalous,” Letty Aronson told Variety. “I hope future people will consider this before trusting the show.”

Allen has won four Oscars, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall. The 1977 romantic comedy also won Best Picture.

Following the release of the Allen V. Farrow documentary series last month, Allen and Previn slammed the project as a “hatchet job riddled with falsehoods”.

“As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false,” reads their statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“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.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service