Dylan Farrow says publicly that Woody Allen molested her
Dylan Farrow renewed molestation allegations against Woody Allen, claiming the movie director sexually assaulted her when she was 7 after he and actress Mia Farrow adopted her.
In an open letter to the New York Times posted online Saturday, Dylan Farrow made her first public comments about the 1992 incident. In a letter to op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, she said she was moved to speak out because of Hollywood’s continued embrace of Allen.
“That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up,” Farrow wrote. “I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls.”
The New York Times reported that Allen declined to comment. Allen has long maintained his innocence.
In the letter, Dylan Farrow claims that in 1992 at the family’s Connecticut home, Allen led her to a “dim, closet-like attic” and “then he sexually assaulted me.” Farrow didn’t specify Allen’s actions, but described other abusive behavior.
Allen was investigated on child molestation claims for the alleged 1992 incident in Connecticut, but prosecutors elected not to charge him.
The 1992 allegation came shortly after Allen became involved with Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Allen was not the adoptive father of Previn, who was about 19 at the time. Allen was in his mid-50s. The two married in 1997 and have two adopted daughters.
Though many fans never forgave Allen for his romance with Previn, the director’s career was largely uninterrupted. He has continued to release a new film almost every year, with his latest, “Blue Jasmine,” earning three Academy Award nominations.
Dylan Farrow’s open letter was precipitated by Allen being honored at the Golden Globes with the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.
Eisenberg selected as next Lex Luthor
Warner Bros. has announced that Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex Luthor in the studio’s planned Superman-Batman film.
The casting of the 30-year-old Eisenberg was met with a wave of surprise on social media Friday. Eisenberg is a widely respected actor but isn’t known for the kind of villainous gravitas that Gene Hackman brought to the role.
The Superman-Batman film is to be directed by Zack Snyder and many also questioned the choice of Ben Affleck for Batman. Reprising the role of Superman is Henry Cavill.
Snyder said Eisenberg allows the film to take Luthor in “some new and unexpected directions.”
The film is set to open in May 2016.
The birthday bunch
Actress Elaine Stritch is 89. Comedian Tom Smothers is 77. Singer Graham Nash is 72. TV chef Ina Garten (“Barefoot Contessa”) is 66. Actor Brent Spiner (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is 65. Model Christie Brinkley is 60. Actress Jennifer Westfeldt (“Kissing Jessica Stein”) is 44. Actress Marissa Jaret Winokur is 41. Singer Shakira is 37.