Woody Allen Speaks Out About Dylan Farrow Abuse Allegations in Newly-Released 2020 Interview
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Woody Allen addressed the allegations of sexual assault made against him by daughter Dylan Farrow in a 2020 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, which has just now been released.
The interview, which began streaming on Paramount+ on March 28, was recorded last July, following the release of the director's memoir Apropos of Nothing, according to the network. As Allen's interview was recorded prior to the release of HBO's docuseries Allen v. Farrow, it does not address any specific claims made against Allen in the series.
Addressing the allegation, Allen, who has long denied abusing Dylan, said, "Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that."
The allegations against Farrow, made by a then-7-year-old Dylan, were first reported during his explosive 1992 split from Mia Farrow. Allen was not charged, though a Connecticut prosecutor said there was probable cause for a criminal case.
Paramount+ Woody Allen
"Why would a guy who's 57 years old? I never was accused of anything in my life, I'm suddenly going to drive up in the middle of a contentious custody fight at Mia's country home (with) a 7-year-old girl. It just – on the surface, I didn't think it required any investigation, even," Allen, 85, told CBS' Lee Cowan in the interview.
"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. Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that," Allen added.
RELATED: Dylan Farrow Speaks Out About Home Video of Her at Age 7 Discussing Alleged Woody Allen Abuse
HBO Dylan Farrow in Allen v. Farrow
In the four-part HBO docuseries, Dylan recounted the "intense" and "grueling" evaluations she underwent as a child shortly after she accused Allen of sexually abusing her. The evaluation process included being interviewed nine times over a three-month period, something Dylan said left her feeling like she "was lying" after having to repeatedly defend her experience.
"If I change a word here, they say I'm being inconsistent, if I'm using the same exact words I used every other time, I was coached," Dylan said.
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During the 2020 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Allen said that he doesn't believe Dylan is "lying."
"I believe she thinks it. She was a good kid. I do not believe that she's making it up. I don't believe she's lying. I believe she believes that," said Allen, who has long maintained that Dylan was coached by Mia.
RELATED VIDEO: Dylan Farrow Recalls 'a Long Period of Guilt' After Accusing Woody Allen of Abuse: 'I Felt I Had Caused a Rift'
In a statement about the decision to release the interview now, CBS News cited "renewed interest in the controversy surrounding the filmmaker."
"Lee Cowan sat down with Woody Allen in July 2020 following the release of his memoir for what would be Allen's first significant television interview in nearly three decades. 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," CBS News said in a statement, according to Variety.
"The exclusive for Paramount Plus offers the ability to explore Allen, his career, and the allegations in context and with the depth that this story demands," CBS News added.
The CBS Sunday Morning interview also included Dylan's 2018 interview with Gayle King.
In February, Allen and wife Soon-Yi Previn issued a statement slamming the HBO docuseries, calling it a "hatchet job riddled with falsehoods."
"These documentarians had no interest in the truth," a spokesperson for Allen, 85, and Previn, 50, alleged in a statement provided to Deadline and other outlets.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
