Woody Allen is not a child molester, says son – but Mia did slap me
WOODY Allen’s adopted son says allegations that the director sexually abused his daughter are ‘inaccurate and misleading’, instead accusing his mother of being ‘abusive and manipulative’.
Moses Farrow says his father – who is accused of molesting his sister Dylan – is an innocent man. But he said Mia Farrow, 73, his adoptive mother and Allen’s former partner, slapped him and controlled his behaviour.
Moses and Dylan were adopted by fourtime Oscar-winning director Allen in 1991, several years after they were adopted by Miss Farrow. Dylan, now 32, alleges that Allen, 82, sexually abused her when she was seven, a claim backed by Miss Farrow and Dylan’s other brother Ronan. But in a 4,600-word blog, the usually publicity- shy Moses spoke out against his mother and sister, denying the abuse ever took place.
He wrote: ‘Given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit. I was
present for everything that transpired in our house before, during, and after the alleged event.
‘The fatal dysfunction within my childhood home had nothing to do with Woody.
‘It began long before he entered the picture and came straight from a deep and persistent darkness within the Farrow family.’
He insisted the abuse could not have taken place, as all their siblings were present at the time and kept an eye on the director, having been warned by Miss Farrow that he was ‘a monster’.
Moses, 40, said he had originally gone along with his sister and mother’s claims as he felt ‘under pressure’. He called supporting the allegations ‘the biggest regret of his life’.
Murky rumours and accusations have dogged the family for decades, ever since the director left Miss Farrow, his partner of 12 years, for her adopted daughter in 1992. Soon-Yi Previn, who is 35 years his junior, was raised by Miss Farrow but had an affair with Allen when she was about 19.
Their relationship was exposed when Miss Farrow discovered ‘graphically erotic’ photographs of her adopted daughter taken by Allen. Years later, Dylan went public to accuse her father of systematically abusing her over a number of years.
Making the claims in the New York Times, she said Allen would coax her into the attic and order her to lay on her stomach.
He would then abuse her, Dylan claimed, an act that happened ‘routinely’ and ‘so skilfully’ to ensure Miss Farrow did not find out. She wrote: ‘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 would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me.’
The acclaimed director denied molesting Dylan. The accusations were investigated during a custody battle between Miss Farrow and Allen when they separated in 1992. Allen was not charged.
‘A crime he did not commit’