Woody Allen calls Dylan Farrow assault accusation ‘a great tabloid drama’

Filmmaker has always denied the accusation that he sexually abused his adoptive daughter

Woody Allen has claimed Dylan Farrow’s allegation that he sexually abused her when she was seven years old was “false [but] a great tabloid drama”.

After the MeToo movement emerged, renewed focus was brought to allegations that the filmmaker sexually assaulted Farrow, his adoptive daughter.

Allen has always vehemently denied the accusation.

“I don’t feel vindicated because that is to imply I was concerned and – I don’t wish to seem callous – but I am not,” the 84-year-old told The Mail on Sunday.

“Of course, I am aware I am the subject of gossip and scandal, but I cannot let it bother me... It was a false allegation but a great tabloid drama.”

He also claimed that he is unbothered if certain people in Hollywood no longer wish to associate with him.

“I don’t go to parties. I don’t care about the box office or awards. Winning an Oscar for me has very little meaning beyond the practical...

“You don’t make a movie to win an award. Mozart never composed a symphony thinking about a trophy,” he said.

Allen’s most recent film, A Rainy Day in New York, was dropped by Amazon, prompting him to sue the online giant for ending his contract before releasing the film. The legal battle ended in 2019.

Publisher Hachette also dropped his memoir, Apropos Of Nothing, after a backlash, prompting Allan to complain the company was treating his book “like nuclear poison”.

Farrow previously said she felt she had been “ignored” when she made the allegations against Allen.

“All I can do is speak my truth and hope ... that someone will believe me instead of just hearing,” she told CBS show This Morning.

Additional reporting by Press Association