Woody Allen is sounding the alarm against a Hollywood “witch hunt” in the wake of the allegations of sexual misconduct against movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
The famed filmmaker said he hoped the revelations would “transform into a benefit for people rather than just a sad or tragic situation.”
“You also don’t want it to lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself,” Mr. Allen told the BBC in an interview on Sunday. “That’s not right, either.”
Mr. Weinstein has been credited with resurrecting the career of Mr. Allen, who was accused of abusing Dylan Farrow, the daughter he had with actress Mia Farrow. Those allegations emerged after it was discovered that Mr. Allen was having an affair with his adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.
Mr. Allen, 81, said the “whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for everybody involved.”
“Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that [his] life is so messed up,” he said. “There’s no winners in that. It’s just very, very sad and tragic for those poor women that had to go through that.”
Despite working with Mr. Weinstein on a number of projects, Mr. Allen said nobody told him about the allegations “with any real seriousness.”
“And they wouldn’t, because you are not interested in it,” Mr. Allen said. “You are interested in making your movie. But you do hear a million fanciful rumors all the time. And some turn out to be true and some — many ― are just stories about this actress, or that actor.”
More than a dozen women have come forward to accuse Mr. Weinstein, 65, of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault. Last week, a spokesperson for the producer said any “allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”
Among those investigating Mr. Weinstein is Mr. Allen’s son, Ronan Farrow, who spoke to 13 women who accused the executive of sexual harassment or assault.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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