(JTA) — The adopted son of Woody Allen is defending the filmmaker against sexual assault allegations made by his sister, Allen’s adopted daughter.
Moses Farrow, writing in a 4,600-word post Wednesday on his personal blog, said he was 14 and present when the molestation of Dylan Farrow is said to have taken place, and that no such assault occurred. He said three other adults also were in the house.
“I’m a very private person and not at all interested in public attention,” Farrow wrote. “But, given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit.”
In the wake of accusations by dozens of women against movie producer Harvey Weinstein and the start of the #MeToo movement, Dylan Farrow revived her accusation that the acclaimed director had molested her in her mother Mia Farrow’s home when she was 7 years old in 1992.
In an interview in January, Dylan Farrow told “CBS This Morning” that she was inspired after hearing the stories of so many other “brave” individuals who have told of their own assaults by powerful men. She had discussed the alleged incident in a New York Times article in 2014.
Moses Farrow in his post wrote that Allen was in the house while Mia Farrow was out shopping. The couple were in a custody battle for the children they had adopted together, and Mia Farrow had told the children to be careful when Allen was around because he was a “monster.”
“As the ‘man of the house’ that day, I had promised to keep an eye out for any trouble, and I was doing just that,” Moses Farrow wrote. “I remember where Woody sat in the TV room, and I can picture where Dylan and Satchel were. Not that everybody stayed glued to the same spot, but I deliberately made sure to note everyone’s coming and going. Along with five kids, there were three adults in the house, all of whom had been told for months what a monster Woody was. None of us would have allowed Dylan to step away with Woody, even if he tried.”
Satchel, who is Allen’s biological son, later changed his name to Ronan. He became an accomplished journalist who ultimately broke the story of the accusations against Weinstein for The New Yorker.
Moses Farrow also wrote that his mother had been abusive to her adoptive and biological children, especially to Soon-Yi Previn, who later married Allen. Farrow claims his mother used to hit him and make him rehearse apologies to her.
“That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing,” he wrote in the blog. “I became anxious and fearful. Once, when I was given a new pair of jeans, I thought they would look cool if I cut off a couple of the belt loops. When Mia saw what I had done, she spanked me repeatedly and had me remove all my clothing, saying, ‘You’re not deserving of any clothes’ and making me stand naked in the corner of her room.”
In response to the post, Dylan Farrow wrote on Twitter: “As I said when he last made these claims, this is an attempt to deflect from a credible allegation made by an adult woman, by trying to impugn my mother who has only ever been supportive of me and my siblings. It’s easily disproven, contradicts years of his own statements, is beyond hurtful to me personally, and is part of a larger effort to discredit and distract from my assault. My brother is a troubled person. I’m so sorry he’s doing this.”
Allen has denied that he ever molested his adopted daughter, and an investigation in 1993 determined that Dylan Farrow was coached to make the accusation, which she denies.
Moses Farrow is married and has a family, and works as a licensed family therapist.
