Woody Allen has given his first US television interview in nearly three decades, in which he claims he’s “perfectly innocent” and vehemently denies ever sexually abusing his daughter Dylan Farrow.
Allen’s interview, which was filmed back in July, was released following the conclusion of HBO’s four-part docuseries Allen v. Farrow, which dives into the sexual assault allegations against him by his daughter, Dylan.
The interview comes nearly three decades after Farrow first alleged that she was sexually abused by Allen, and it’s worth noting that she still stands by the allegations to this day.
It’s pretty unsurprising that Allen would deny sexually abusing his daughter, because he has continued to deny any wrongdoing in this situation since the allegations first came to light back in 1992.
However, it’s interesting to note that Allen specifically blamed his ex-partner Mia Farrow for allegedly encouraging the allegations following their bitter split in 1992.
“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, then the possibility that I molested her,” Allen said. “Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that.”
After the breakdown of their 12-year relationship, Farrow discovered that Allen had been having an affair with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, who he later married.
Throughout the interview, Allen also explained that he believes Dylan believes her own allegations and isn’t lying.
“She was a good kid,” Allen said while asserting that he is innocent. “I believe she thinks it. I don’t believe she’s making it up. She’s not lying. I believe she believes that.”
Following the interview, CBS has received a huge amount of backlash for reportedly legitimizing Allen in the face of some extremely serious allegations.
“If someone is there being interviewed, they’re given a kind of legitimacy just by the fact that they’re being interviewed on a big newscast,” art critic Aruna D’Souza said of the piece in an interview with CBS.
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