Woody Allen denies abuse claims
February 8, 2014
Allen again denied the resurfaced accusations in a lengthy response to claims by his now-adult daughter that he molested her as a child.
In open letter released online on Friday and due to be published in the upcoming Sunday edition of the New York Times, the 78-year-old filmmaker described the allegations as "ludicrous."
He said his estranged daughter had been coached to make the claim by his former partner Mia Farrow (pictured above, right) in the midst of a bitter custody battle.
"Of course, I did not molest Dylan," Allen wrote. "I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter's well-being."
The response comes five days after Dylan Farrow, 28, expanded on the decades-old accusation in her own open letter to the newspaper.
She accused Allen of abusing her at the family's Connecticut home in 1992 when she was seven years old.
"For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn't like," she wrote.
Hollywood feud
The allegations first surfaced in 1993 at the time of Allen's high-profile breakup with Mia Farrow.
The 12-year relationship ended when it came to light that Allen was having an affair with another daughter adopted by Farrow, Soon-Yi Previn, whom he later married.
Although there was a police investigation, Allen was never prosecuted.
He has long asserted that Mia Farrow, who appeared in more than a dozen of his films, had fabricated the claims.
Allen wrote on Friday that his letter should conclude the matter.
"This piece will be my final word on this entire matter, and no one will be responding on my behalf to any further comments on it by any party."
Famed for films including "Annie Hall" and "Hannah and her Sisters," Allen was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills last month.
His latest film, "Blue Jasmine," is nominated for three Academy Awards at next month's Oscars, including best original screenplay for the director.
ccp/jlw (AP, Reuters)