Woody Allen is perhaps one of the most recognized American movie directors ever. Throughout his career, he has directed over 50 films and has received numerous accolades. Some of his most prestigious achievements are four Academy Awards, ten Bafta Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award.
Disclaimer: The article contains mention of assault. Reader discretion is advised.
However, Woody Allen is also a very controversial figure in showbiz. From 1980 to 1992, he was in a relationship with actress Mia Farrow, with whom he collaborated in several films. When Woody and Farrow met, she was a mother to seven children. Out of the seven, three were her biological kids, which she had with ex-husband André Previn. The rest of them were adopted. In July 1985, Farrow became a mother to yet another child, after she adopted a baby girl, Dylan Farrow.
Reports suggest that Woody Allen allegedly sexually molested Dylan Farrow, in 1992. According to Dylan, who was seven at the time, this ordeal took place in the attic of her mother’s home in Connecticut. Even though the director has maintained his innocence to this day, Dylan strongly claims that Allen is in the wrong.
Almost three decades after these accusations, HBO released a documentary series titled Allen v. Farrow in 2021, that delved deep into this disturbing story, that shattered a family to to its core. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of this four-episode project reads, “A four-part series documenting the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving Dylan, his then 7-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow; their subsequent custody trial, the revelation of Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi; and the controversial aftermath in the years that followed.”
The directors of Allen v. Farrow are Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering.
Mia Farrow adopted Dylan Farrow six years into her relationship with Woody Allen
According to Esquire, Mia Farrow and Woody Allen met in 1979, the same year her marriage ended with André Previn. As mentioned before, Farrow and Previn had seven children. Interestingly, one of their adopted daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, eventually married Woddy in 1997.
During their time together, Mia and Woody worked on 13 films together. Some of the most popular ones are The Purple Rose of Cairo, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and more. Six years after the duo met, Farrow adopted Dylan, who was born in Texas. Two years after Dylan’s adoption, Mia conceived her first child with Woody, a baby boy named Satchel (now called Ronan). Interestingly, in a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, Mia revealed that Ronan’s biological father was “possibly” the popular singer and actor, Frank Sinatra. This is because Mia and Frank were married between 1966 and 1968, and the two apparently “never really split up.” Furthermore, since no DNA tests took place, Mia was unsure who’s son Ronan was.
Interestingly, in 2015, Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Nancy Sinatra stated that Mia’s claims were “nonsense”. She furthermore revealed that her children were deeply affected by the rumor and she was furious with Mia. According to E! News, she said, “Mia’s son? Oh, nonsense. He would just laugh it off. We didn’t laugh it off because it was affecting my kids, you know. They were being questioned about it and we all knew it was nonsense.”
Nancy added that Mia was certainly making a joke, but everyone took her words way too seriously. She said, “I was kind of cranky with Mia for even saying, ‘Possibly’. I was cranky with her for saying that because she knew better, you know, she really did. But she was making a joke! And it was taken very serious and was just silly, stupid.”
Dylan Farrow’s babysitter Casey Pascal said she witnessed Woody Allen assault the seven-year-old
In 1991, the 56-year-old Allen adopted Dylan and one of Mia’s 13-year-old sons, Moses Farrow. Interestingly, in the very same year, Allen began an affair with another of Mia Farrow’s adopted daughters Soon-Yi Previn. Eventually, Mia learned of Allen and Soon-Yi’s relationship after she discovered her nude photograph in Allen’s apartment.
This revelation led to Mia and Woody’s break up, and the family was severely affected. According to Esquire, Woody had permission to visit his adopted children, even though he and Mia weren’t a couple anymore. Reports suggest that during one of these interactions, Woody allegedly assaulted Dylan Farrow. The HBO documentary suggests that Mia had gone out when this inappropriate encounter took place. A family friend, Casey Pascal, was babysitting Dylan. However, during one of Woody’s visits, she could not locate them for a long time.
Allen v. Farrow. contains a clip of seven-year-old Dylan recounting her assault, which was recorded by Mia. Furthermore, this was the first time this footage had public access.
In a 2018 CBS This Morning interview Dylan Farrow candidly spoke about what transpired on the day of her unfortunate encounter with her adopted father. The now 39-year-old shockingly stated that Allen touched her private parts. She said, “I was taken to a small attic crawl space in my mother’s country house in Connecticut by my father.”
Dylan continued, “He instructed me to lay down on my stomach and play with my brother’s toy train that was set up. And he sat behind me in the doorway, and as I played with the toy train, I was sexually assaulted… As a 7-year-old I would say, I would have said he touched my private parts.”
After months of investigation, Woody Allen’s name was cleared of the assault allegations
August 17, 1992, proved to be a significant day for everybody involved in this situation. While Woody and Soon-Yi made their relationship public, the Connecticut State Police began investigating allegations against the director.
On August 18, 1992, Woody Allen held a press conference where he addressed his adopted daughter’s allegations and stated that he was innocent. This press conference took place at New York’s Plaza Hotel. According to Vox, the director stated that his ex-girlfriend Mia made her lie about the assault to exact revenge for his affair with Soon-Yi. He stated, “This is an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives.”
A few months later, in November of the same year, Vanity Fair published an article titled Mia’s Story, that showcased Mia Farrow’s side of the story. Following months of investigation, Woody Allen was cleared of all charges after medical experts did not find signs of sexual molestation in Dylan.
In a 2021 interview with CNN, Allen called his now estranged daughter a “good kid” and added that she believes that the assault did take place. He stated, “She was a good kid and I believe she thinks it. She further stated, “I do not believe that she’s making it up. I don’t believe she’s lying. I believe she believes that.”
Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in 1997 when the former was 62 and the latter was 27. The duo has two adopted daughters.
