Susan Sarandon on Woody Allen: ‘He Sexually Assaulted a Child’

Susan Sarandon slammed Woody Allen at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.

“I think he sexually assaulted a child and I don’t think that’s right,” Sarandon said during Variety and Kering’s Women in Motion talk with Geena Davis.

“I have nothing good to say about him,” she added. “I don’t want to go there.”

Allen is back in the headlines this week. At the Cannes premiere of new film, “Cafe Society,” comedian Laurent Lafitte made a rape joke involving director Roman Polanski that seemed to reference allegations that Allen sexually abused his step-daughter, Dylan Farrow.

That wasn’t the only reason Allen has been dominating the talk at Cannes. The director’s son, Ronan Farrow, penned a blistering opinion piece prior to “Cafe Society’s” debut, criticizing the media for not doing more digging into the allegations of abuse.

Sarandon and Davis also discussed the dearth of strong roles for women in studio films and the lack of directing opportunities for women. The actresses, who memorably collaborated on 1991’s “Thelma & Louise,” said that pundits initially predicted that the film would spur a new wave of projects about female friendship. But that never happened.

“The movie made a lot of money and that didn’t happen,” said Sarandon.

Davis expressed hope that things could improve. She noted that making movies more equitable is easier than increasing the number of women in boardrooms, congress, or other institutions.

“The thing about film is it can change overnight,” said Davis. “The next film somebody makes can be gender balanced.”

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