Woody Allen Is Worried About A “Witch Hunt” In The Wake Of The Harvey Weinstein Scandal
He also said he felt "sad" for the disgraced producer.
Film director Woody Allen says he feels “sad” for Harvey Weinstein, and is worried that the ongoing scandal around the disgraced producer could lead to a “witch hunt atmosphere” in Hollywood.
Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over the weekend in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault that have dominated the news cycle. In its statement, the Academy said the decision sent a message “that the era of wilful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over.”
Allen has worked with Weinstein on a number of occasions and claims that, although he heard “rumours”, he never knew the extent of the producer’s alleged behaviour.
“No one ever came to me or told me horror stories with any real seriousness,” Allen told the BBC. “And they wouldn’t, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in making your movie.”
“But you do hear a million fanciful rumours all the time. And some turn out to be true and some — many — are just stories about this actress, or that actor.”
“The whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for everybody involved,” he continued. “Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that [his] life is so messed up.
The filmmaker also expressed his concerns that the allegations against Weinstein could have unintended consequences. “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. That’s not right either.”
Allen has previously faced allegations of sexual assault himself, with his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow having accused him of molesting her as a child. In an open letter to The New York Times in February 2013, Farrow wrote that Allen was a “predator” and “a living testament to the way our society fails the survivor of sexual assault and abuse”.
Allen has strongly denied accusations of assault, as has Weinstein.