Woody Allen sexually assaulted me when I was 7...

[HipChick]

Dylan Allen, his adopted daughter posts open letter...

Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, has written a first person account published on The New York Times' website that details her allegation that she was sexually assaulted by the film director at age 7.

"[W]hen I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me, He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains.

For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me. These things happened so often, so routinely, so skillfully hidden from a mother that would have protected me had she known, that I thought it was normal. I thought this was how fathers doted on their daughters. But what he did to me in the attic felt different. I couldn’t keep the secret anymore."
http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/kristof/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

[morningfog]

1. I didn't follow this at the time. And that it was, at least to a degree, on the periphery

gets very much to her point.

However, what is described in the second bold paragraph does not sound like sexual assault. Inappropriate for sure. And it sound like enough to inflict psychological harm. But, not sexual assault. She says sexual assault in the first bold paragraph, but that incident, in the attic, isn't described.

Does anyone who's followed this know what was alleged to have happened in the attic?

[Merlot]

14. What happened in the attic is pretty disturbing.

It doesn't need to be described. If someone is doing all the things described in the second paragraph, eventually more serious assault will happen.

[morningfog]

18. I followed some other links.

As best I could find, the story is that he touched her vagina. But, there were lots of questions about the mom's influence on her story and the story itself.

The case was also investigated, but no charges ever brought against him.

[roguevalley]

21. because the trial was consider detrimental to the child at the time.

[WeekendWarrior]

23. No, because a team of investigators, after a six month investigation

found no evidence of molestation.

The investigation was automatic, after the charge against Allen was made. There is no credible evidence that this ever happened to Dylan and the older brother has used the word "brainwashed" about the incident.

It amazes me how people here on DU—who are apparently progressive—are so quick to assume someone is guilty until proven innocent.

[last1standing]

35. You're only half right.

These "progressives" will never accept that an accused child molester is EVER innocent, regardless of proof.

Also, they want their payback for what Woody Allen did to Mia Farrow. They demand it.

[1monster]

27. Hiding under beds, locking herself in bathrooms... Yes.

I hid in the back of the closet, behind the winter clothing. I wasn't sexually assaulted, but I was sexually harassed from age eleven to age fifteen when I, not my mother whom I begged for help, put a stop to it.

This girl's story rings very true. I don't need the details.

[Nye Bevan]

2. What an utterly disgusting creep that man is (nt)

[Triana]

3. Seems I heard this before or read it before...

....maybe it was some other Hollywood dude I'm thinking of though.

[IdaBriggs]

4. Words fail. I find her credible.

[FredisDead]

5. The Woody Allen Allegations: Not So Fast

Twenty-one years after the first allegations that Woody Allen abused his adopted daughter, that incident is back in the news thanks to the director’s ex-partner, Mia Farrow, and estranged son, Ronan Farrow. But what does a closer examination reveal?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html

[HipChick]

6. What he did with his adopted daughter..yuck..

[morningfog]

7. The link in the post you responded to says that is false.

[HipChick]

34. Based on all his actions, I'm not giving that sickco

benefit of the doubt...

[Adrahil]

8. I don't care how you spin it....

.... Marrying Soon Yi was major league creepy.

[WeekendWarrior]

24. She wasn't his adopted daughter and he was not her father figure

That said, I agree it's disturbing. But it doesn't mean he molested his seven year old daughter.

[Whisp]

25. so if he molested his 7 year old neighbour's kid, that would make it different?

wtf

[WeekendWarrior]

29. WTF indeed

I was talking about Soon Yi, not Dylan.

As for Dylan, a six month investigation into the allegations against Allen—conducted by the police and sex abuse specialists—concluded that there was no evidence that he molested Dylan, let alone anyone else.

[Adrahil]

44. So marrying your girlfriend's adopted daughter isn't creepy?

Oh yes it is.

[bettyellen]

10. I gave Allen the benfit of the doubt till I read that article, jeeze. Sleazy stuff.

He is obviously in the bag for Woody, working years on Woody glorification projects. Trashes Mia and flippantly dismissing Dylan, after swearing he had no intent to do either. Not as nearly as credible as the VF article.

[Dorian Gray]

61. That's the major problem

with that daily beast OPINION piece. He trashes Mia and Dylan, despite repeated claims he has no interest in doing so.

he has an agenda, and it's obvious.

[bettyellen]

64. bizarre to see so many here share that link as being the definative facts based piece, and saying

we know what happened now? actually it's pretty creepy that these same folk totally ignored how biased it was.
and that it couldn't have happened because no conviction? are they for fucking real? I don't claim to know what happened, but that shit is offensive.

[Dorian Gray]

65. I totally agree with you

It's really disturbing.

I think people don't want to believe that Woody Allen is evil so they grasp at straws.

[freshwest]

32. Uff dah. This is getting pretty gross. From the link:

One of the witnesses who testified on Polanski’s behalf was Mia Farrow, who, I’m told, remains friendly with the director to this day. I commend her for standing by her friend and going on record as a character witness. That’s what friends do. In fact, her support of Polanski is so steadfast that when he won the Oscar for best director for his 2002 masterpiece, The Pianist, Mia never even suggested that the Motion Picture Academy showed contempt for all abuse survivors in so honoring him. But then again,

We'll never know what is true with the celebrities involved. All these articles are by people who are paid to sell stories.

[joshcryer]

33. That article spurred Dylan to write her letter.

[vankuria]

9. I may be one of the very few that

doesn't believe any of this. Dylan's mom Mia Farrow was with Woody Allen for a number of years, she has many children and there was never accusations of sexual abuse until she found out Woody was having an affair with her older adopted daughter. This is of course just my observation, no one knows for sure what happened and the accusations have never been substantiated. I believe when Mia found out about Woody's affair she was so hurt and humiliated she was going to get him back the worst way she could by accusing him of being a child molester because that is really the worse thing you can call someone.

I think Mia put a lot of ideas into Dylan's head, that does happen unfortunately in some cases. If Woody was repeatedly abusing this child, how come it never came out until her relationship with him ended?

Mia recently came out with an accusation that her son Ronan, the kid she had with Woody is not really his and he was conceived with Frank Sinatra. Ronan was born in '87, by that time Frank was 73 yrs. old and he spent the last years of his life battling bladder cancer, kidney disease and dementia, I think he died in '98. When Frank was married to Mia they never had kids together and for that matter Frank never had kids with any of his ex's except for his first wife, so why would we believe Frank cheated on his wife to have a kid with Mia? I know some people on here say Ronan looks like Frank, I guess it's a matter of perception, I personally think he looks like Mia. No one ever said the kid looked like Frank until Mia put it out there to the press.

I think Mia is a bit unhinged, after all the daughter she adopted (with Andre Previn, not Woody) was involved with her boyfriend of many years and that could make anyone nuts.

I will say Woody Allen is guilty of using extremely poor judgement in getting involved with Mia's daughter, even though she was not his daughter, she is the sister of his children.

[eShirl]

11. hmmm...

One of these things is not like the other.
Which one is different, do you know?

[arikara]

12. Holy moly

Its rather obvious isn't it?

[kiva]

13. Yup, I do not know

how anyone can look at pics of Roana Farrow and Frank Sinatra and not figure that one out.

[JI7]

26. yup, didn't Maria Shriver figure out the affair Arnold had based on how the kid started to look

some things are just too obvious . it was the same with edwards . everyone knew he was lying about hte kid not being his because the kid looked totally like him.

[OnionPatch]

56. Being an artist,

I'm pretty good at noticing tiny variations of facial features. That nose and mouth are Frank's.... or some bizarre coincidence caused Mia and Woody's genes to combine in a very particular way as to make their son look like Frank Sinatra.

[FredisDead]

16. While we’re on the subject

While we’re on the subject, a word about this Sinatra business: To even say that Ronan is “possibly” Sinatra’s son implies that Mia was fooling around with her ex-husband decades after their divorce. Backdating from Ronan’s birthdate, it means that Farrow and Sinatra “hooked up” in March of 1987 when Mia was 42 and Old Blue Eyes was 71. This sort of dispels the myth that Woody and Mia had this idyllic, loving, monogamous relationship until Woody threw it all away in 1992, since Mia was apparently diddling her ex, five years earlier. If Mia was “just kidding” about the Sinatra scenario, it was an awfully insensitive thing to say, considering the fact that Sinatra’s wife, Barbara, is still very much alive. Did Mia stop to think how her coy tease might be perceived by the widow Sinatra? One can only wonder if this also fits Ronan’s definition of a “moral transgression.” (One may also wonder whether Woody is owed a fortune in reimbursement for child support.)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html

[reorg]

36. Well, maybe she was just saving a bottle of his semen in the fridge

until the time was right and the age difference had shrunk to 9 years or so.

[BainsBane]

59. Does that means the child deserved it?

It's not enough to attack the moral virtue of rape victims, but now the victim bears the sins of her mother?

I read that article yesterday. It's the most repulsive and transparent rape apology I've seen in some time. The fact he even brings up that sort of distraction tells me he doesn't give a rat's ass what happened to that child.

[redqueen]

68. The fact that so many DUers find such a hatchet job not only credible, but worthy of linking to?

Yeah, I only wish I could be surprised.

[Merlot]

17. That's interesting, though I'd like to see a picture of Mia at the same age.

He would also look very much like her at that age.

[eShirl]

40. Yes. Children often tend to resemble both their biological parents.

Funny how that works.





Of course, sometimes children "take after" one parent more than the other in the looks department. IMO Ronan Farrow takes after his dad.

[vankuria]

41. All I see

is a very young Mia Farrow in his face. I was a fan of Peyton Place back in the day and that's exactly how Mia looked, you can google it and see for yourself.

[eShirl]

42. Perhaps he's his mother's clone.

That's the ticket.

[undeterred]

43. Ronan Farrow is brilliant.

Like him or not, Woody Allen is brilliant.

Ronan Farrow's brains did not come from Frank Sinatra - they came from Woody Allen.

[kskiska]

49. Did any of Frank's other children even graduate from high school? n/c

[WinkyDink]

50. Google.

[kskiska]

66. Apparently not much

Nancy dropped out after one year. No mention of higher education for Tina or Frank Jr.

[MrMickeysMom]

45. Didn't you want to include THIS picture?

[vankuria]

52. My point exactly

Ronan looks exactly like his Mom.

[eShirl]

54. That actually looks less like Ronan than my 2nd photo.

Speaking of possible biological parents of Ronan...

[MrMickeysMom]

46. I tend to be one of those few, also...

Farrow exhibited some evidence of eccentric and bizarre behavior after the affair of adopted daughter of Andre Previn. I already know that bitterness stemming from one parent has long potential effects on the children. I think many of us know how hard that is to reconcile.

I also know that genius (Allen) comes along with eccentric and bizarre behavior. I'd rather know Woody Allen for all of his movies (Farrow, too, as she was great), than for the crap that comes out of BAD choices and BAD relationships of life!

[frwrfpos]

15. sick fucking creep that guy is

never thought much of him or his movies and now Im glad these allegations are coming forward

[defacto7]

19. And we know?????

what?

What do we have to do with it? And how do we know anything? That whole family and all those related by marriage or past marriage may be psychopathic for all we know... or will ever know.

We don't have a clue.

[roguevalley]

22. given that Farrow found naked pictures of soon yi before this exploded might have something

to do with it. Marrying her was sick.

[defacto7]

30. Sorry you didn't understand...

That is what you have read. We don't "know" anything.

[roguevalley]

37. perhaps. But I won't try and second guess a girl telling her story.

[defacto7]

38. OK...

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

20. I there some kind of war going on between the Woodies and Farrows?

[JI7]

28. ever since he got with soonyi

[Tom Ripley]

31. Neurotic Panic in the Attic

[Democat]

39. Children never lie or are never coached by adults, like in the McMartin Case

And there are not two sides to any story and evidence is irrelevant.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html

[MrMickeysMom]

47. Here's an interesting few tidbits from that link...

#1: Soon-Yi was Woody’s daughter. False.

#2: Soon-Yi was Woody’s step-daughter. False.

#3: Soon-Yi was Woody and Mia’s adopted daughter. False. Soon-Yi was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and André Previn. Her full name was Soon-Yi Farrow Previn.

#4: Woody and Mia were married. False.

#5: Woody and Mia lived together. False. Woody lived in his apartment on Fifth Ave. Mia and her kids lived on Central Park West. In fact, Woody never once stayed over night at Mia’s apartment in 12 years.

#6: Woody and Mia had a common-law marriage. False. New York State does not recognize common law marriage. Even in states that do, a couple has to cohabitate for a certain number of years.

#7: Soon-Yi viewed Woody as a father figure. False. Soon-Yi saw Woody as her mother’s boyfriend. Her father figure was her adoptive father, André Previn.

#8: Soon-Yi was underage when she and Woody started having relations. False. She was either 19 or 21. (Her year of birth in Korea was undocumented, but believed to be either 1970 or ’72.)

#9: Soon-Yi was borderline retarded. Ha! She’s smart as a whip, has a degree from Columbia University and speaks more languages than you.

#10: Woody was grooming Soon-Yi from an early age to be his child bride. Oh, come on! According to court documents and Mia’s own memoir, until 1990 (when Soon-Yi was 18 or 20), Woody “had little to do with any of the Previn children, (but) had the least to do with Soon-Yi” so Mia encouraged him to spend more time with her. Woody started taking her to basketball games, and the rest is tabloid history. So he hardly “had his eye on her” from the time she was a child.

Let me add this: If anyone is creeped out by the notion of a 55-year old man becoming involved with his girlfriend’s 19-year old adopted daughter, I understand. That makes perfect sense. But why not get the facts straight? If the actual facts are so repugnant to you, then why embellish them?

It’s understandable that Mia would remain furious with Woody for the rest of her life. If I were in Mia’s position, I’m sure I’d feel the same way. (Though I’d likely handle it as a private matter and not be tweeting about him being a pedophile, just before tweeting, “omfg look at this baby panda.”) I also understand the simmering anger of Ronan Farrow (née Satchel), who has famously said of Allen, “He’s my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law. That is such a moral transgression.” However, this particular dilemma might be resolved by Mia’s recent revelations that Ronan’s biological father may “possibly” be Frank Sinatra, whom Farrow married in 1966, when she was 21 and the crooner was 50.

While we’re on the subject, a word about this Sinatra business: To even say that Ronan is “possibly” Sinatra’s son implies that Mia was fooling around with her ex-husband decades after their divorce. Backdating from Ronan’s birthdate, it means that Farrow and Sinatra “hooked up” in March of 1987 when Mia was 42 and Old Blue Eyes was 71. This sort of dispels the myth that Woody and Mia had this idyllic, loving, monogamous relationship until Woody threw it all away in 1992, since Mia was apparently diddling her ex, five years earlier. If Mia was “just kidding” about the Sinatra scenario, it was an awfully insensitive thing to say, considering the fact that Sinatra’s wife, Barbara, is still very much alive. Did Mia stop to think how her coy tease might be perceived by the widow Sinatra? One can only wonder if this also fits Ronan’s definition of a “moral transgression.” (One may also wonder whether Woody is owed a fortune in reimbursement for child support.)

I am not here to slam Mia. I think she’s an exceptional actress and I seriously admire her political activism. (I even follow her on Twitter.) But those who hate Woody “for what he did to Mia,” should be reminded that if Sinatra was indeed Ronan’s biological father, it’s not the first time Mia had a child by a married man. In 1969, at the age of 24, she became pregnant by musician/composer André Previn, 40, who was still married to singer/songwriter Dory Previn. The betrayal is said to have led to Dory Previn’s mental breakdown and institutionalization, during which she received electroconvulsive therapy. She would later write a song called, “Beware of Young Girls” about Mia. Maybe sleeping with your friend’s husband doesn’t earn as many demerits as sleeping with your girlfriend’s adopted daughter, but if you’re waving the “Never Forget” banner in Mia’s honor, let’s be consistent and take a moment to also remember the late Dory Previn. (Or better yet, let’s forget the whole damn thing, considering it’s none of our business.)

[WinkyDink]

48. I remember the original story. People didn't want to believe the child in those pre-Sandusky and

pre-Saville scandal days.

[Democat]

60. McMartin Preschool was pre-Sandusky

A lot of people believed and lives were ruined.

The American system presumes innocence, not guilt.

[WinkyDink]

62. Free will presumes we can think what we want.

[randr]

51. No surprise here

Allen has always been a dweeb as reflected in his socially inept movie characters.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

53. No evidence of penetration -

I have wanted to scream every time I see someone throw that up as "evidence" that Allen is innocent.

So "penetration" is the only sign of real molestation?? Really??

May I remind folks that Allen could have fingered her vulva and touched her vagina and there would have NEVER been any physical evidence it ever happened -- and that 7 year old girl would have been as thoroughly molested just the same.

Dylan is the one that sought out her mother with questions about the appropriateness of what was happening to her.

I find her allegations convincing and compelling.

[bettyellen]

57. some people here are just as bad about judging what is "real rape" than the worst RWers...

this is why I am not shocked when these RWers aren't hung up to dry for their misogyny. We have lefties agreeing with big parts of their bullshit.

[nightbloomer]

55. don't buy it

I don't believe Dylan on this one. She was coached by Mia at the time. Mia Farrow is bonkers. Just read her book. She is a bitter evil woman and she is out for revenge. I think is feeling a bit orchestrated that she, Dylan and Ronan are ALL coming out with this stuff at the same time.

Something funny is going on here.

[HipChick]

58. You must have missed that it was prompted by his recent win...

[1monster]

63. Such attitudes are why girls (and boys) who are being molested or otherwise sexually abused

don't ask for help. They are not believed and the molester (and possible enablers) are free to wreak havoc on the child. Fear plays a HUGE role in sexual abuse.

[redqueen]

67. +1000000000000000000000000000