Why Woody Allen’s estranged son exposed scandal

THE JOURNALIST who spent nearly a year doggedly exposing the Harvey Weinstein scandal is the estranged son of controversial film director Woody Allen.

Investigative reporter Ronan Farrow, whose mother is actress Mia, has previously attacked Hollywood for its dangerous silence over sex abuse allegations against his father.

He became estranged from Allen, 81, after his adopted sister Dylan alleged she had been abused by the director as a child. Allen has always denied the allegation, but Farrow, 29, attacked stars who continued to work with him and to promote his films, saying: “That kind of silence isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous.”

Farrow worked for 10 months on his Weinstein investigation, which included accounts from three women who said they had been raped by him.

Despite repeated threats that Weinstein would sue, the story was finally published by The New Yorker, along with a taped police conversation in which the Miramax mogul apologised for groping model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez.

The exposé was reported to have been previously rejected by US broadcaster NBC, where Farrow worked as a freelance news correspondent. He said several other news organisations had faced “a great deal of pressure” to drop investigations into Weinstein.

Last week, the New York Times revealed eight allegations of sexual harassment, all of which led to financial settlements. The women involved have said they faced enormous pressure to keep silent.

Weinstein, who is a high-profile supporter of the Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, was said to have conducted a campaign of threats and intimidation against anyone who threatened to expose him.

Farrow said his investigation should have been made public earlier and said NBC had missed the scoop.

NBC has not commented, but sources said it had been offered an early version which did not include on-the-record accounts from victims. – Daily Mail