Moses Farrow, Dylan’s brother, denies Woody Allen ever molested Dylan

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Did you know that Dylan and Ronan Farrow had a brother named Moses? Well, you’re about to find out a lot more about Moses. Moses is currently a family therapist (doctor, heal thyself?) and he gave an exclusive and extensive interview to People Magazine about this current round of accusations, drama and sadness within his family. But… Moses Farrow is siding with Woody. Moses says that Woody never molested Dylan and that this is all some huge plot by Mia Farrow:

Dylan Farrow’s Feb. 1 open letter to The New York Times detailing sexual molestation she says she suffered at the hands of her father Woody Allen reignited a controversy that has divided their family bitterly for more than 20 years. Now her brother Moses Farrow is speaking out to defend Allen – and accuse their mother, Mia Farrow, of poisoning the children against their father.

“My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister,” Moses, 36, tells PEOPLE in the magazine’s new issue. “And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.”

Moses and Dylan, 28, both adopted by Allen and Farrow, and their brother Ronan, 26, were in the center of a 1993 custody battle in which both sides testified about Allen’s affair with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen went on to marry in 1997. Farrow was awarded custody of the couple’s three children. (In total, she has 14 kids from her marriages and solo adoptions.) Allen, 78, who was investigated but not charged with molestation, has for decades denied abusing Dylan, maintaining that Farrow, 69, coached Dylan, an accusation Farrow has always denied.

“Of course Woody did not molest my sister,” says Moses, who is estranged from Farrow and many of his siblings and is close to Allen and Soon-Yi. “She loved him and looked forward to seeing him when he would visit. She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him. The day in question, there were six or seven of us in the house. We were all in public rooms and no one, not my father or sister, was off in any private spaces. My mother was conveniently out shopping. I don’t know if my sister really believes she was molested or is trying to please her mother. Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation because to be on her wrong side was horrible.”

Dylan insists that she is telling the truth.

“This is such a betrayal to me and my whole family,” she tells PEOPLE in response to her brother’s comments. “My memories are the truth and they are mine and I will live with that for the rest of my life.”

“My mother never coached me,” Dylan says. “She never planted false memories in my brain. My memories are mine. I remember them. She was distraught when I told her. When I came forward with my story she was hoping against hope that I had made it up. In one of the most heartbreaking conversations I have ever had, she sat me down and asked me if I was telling the truth. She said that Dad said he didn’t do anything. and I said, ‘He’s lying.’ ”

Moses accuses Farrow of bullying him as well. “Our mother has misled the public into believing it was a happy household of both biological and adopted children,” he says. “From an early age, my mother demanded obedience and I was often hit as a child. She went into unbridled rages if we angered her, which was intimidating at the very least and often horrifying, leaving us not knowing what she would do.”

“I don’t know where he gets this about getting beaten,” counters Dylan. “We were sent to our rooms sometimes…I will not see my family dragged down like this,” she adds. “I can’t stay silent when my family needs me and I will not abandon them like Soon-Yi and Moses. My brother is dead to me. My mother is so brave and so courageous and taught me what it means to be strong and brave and tell the truth even in the face of these monstrous lies.”

Farrow, who declined to respond to Moses’s accusations, Tweeted, “I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it’s about her truth.”

Moses, a family therapist, says that his own life has been made better by spending time with Allen.

“I think my sister is missing a great deal in life in not reconnecting with her father, who had always adored her,” he says. “It’s important that she assert her independence from our mother and not go through life with the false impression that she has been molested by my father. I am very happy I have come into my own power, separating from my mother, which has led to a positive reunion with my father.”

Allen’s family says that the director is devastated by Dylan’s letter. “This is a horrible, horrible tragedy,” Allen’s sister Letty Aronson tells PEOPLE. “He feels very badly for Dylan, that she has been so poisoned by her mother.”

Dylan, of course, feels very differently. “I have a wonderful family,” she says. “We are brave and we are truthful and anyone who says anything otherwise does not know us.”

[From People]

It sounds like Moses gave a detailed interview to People Mag, then People took the quotes to Dylan and she reacted to them one by one. I think it’s very interesting that she says “My brother is dead to me.” As for Mia, as the People Mag article notes, she tweeted: “I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it’s about her truth.” I do have to wonder… how many more Farrow children and family members will we be hearing from? Incidentally, Mia’s brother, John, was just convicted and sentenced on Monday to ten years in prison for child molestation.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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463 Responses to “Moses Farrow, Dylan’s brother, denies Woody Allen ever molested Dylan”

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  1. Samtha says:

    There are problems with Moses’ story. For one, other people have confirmed that Dylan and Woody were missing for at least 15 minutes that day.

    From one of the Vanity Fair articles:
    On August 4, Woody was in Connecticut to visit the children, and Mia and Casey went shopping, taking along Mia’s two most recently adopted children—a blind Vietnamese girl named Tam, 11, and Isaiah, a seven-month-old black baby born to a crack-addicted mother. While they were gone, there was a brief period, perhaps 15 minutes, when Woody and Dylan vanished from sight. The baby-sitter who was inside searched high and low for them through the cluttered old farmhouse, but she couldn’t find them. The outside baby-sitter, after a look at the grounds around the house, concluded the two must be inside somewhere. When Mia got home a short time later, Dylan and Woody were outside, and Dylan didn’t have any underpants on.

    • Samtha says:

      Second, just because he didn’t personally witness Dylan being molested, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Two siblings can have completely different experiences growing up in the same household, especially when abuse is involved.

      That’s what abusers do–they don’t walk around wearing signs, or announcing to the household that they’re now going to molest one of the children. They do it in secret and use shame and manipulation to ensure the victim’s silence.

      • Mouse says:

        @Samtha: I can totally attest to your comment. My older sibling experienced a very different household than I did even though we lived in the same space at the same time.

      • Meredith says:

        @ Samtha : Exactly what I thought. Did Moses stay by Woody’s side for the entire day or did he wander around doing his own thing? Unless he was glued to Woody’s side, Moses can’t say for sure that the molestation didn’t happen. I think it is very damaging for a family therapist to call out his own sister and say she lied about being molested by their father. That type of attitude keeps victims from coming forward and getting the help they need.

      • nicegirl says:

        I agree. Abusers are master manipulators, and deceivers. I lived in my home with one for my entire childhood, and was unaware. In fact, for years, I protected the perpetrator, from physical and emotional abuse at the hands of our parents, local bullies, weirdos my folks brought around, but never, ever, truly not one single time, did I think to protect our other siblings from HIM. I live with the regret, daily. I just did not know. I thought we were on the same team, together. Against our parents. Against the small town of rich folks that did not care about us. I thought he was my good friend and little brother, weak, scared, and in need of protecting. Little did I know that when I would sneak out at night to see my friends after a good beating from my dad that evening – and ask him to cover for me!, that he would be sneaking into our baby sisters’ rooms to violate them. And he manipulated his victims into thinking they could not trust anyone, so they did not tell, either. He told them horrific things to get them to keep silent. That he would kill me, Mom, Dad, our dog; that I let him do it to me, also, and said it was ok for him to hurt them; that they would ruin our family if they told; that he would go to jail and it would be their fault; that no one loved him; the heartbreaking list goes on. One of his victims hates me for not ignoring his crimes, she says she learned a lot from him, and he is the best person she has ever met. She says if she can forgive him and love him, I should be able to, as well. I cannot. Particularly because I believe his is still offending. I am overcome with the sickness of these predatory folks. And in the end (now), he still controls the family dynamic – with lies, manipulation, and constant attacks against those who fight the merry go round of dysfunction. I live far, far away now, and will, forever. I am so sorry for this family, for every family who goes through this terrible trauma.

      • Nicolette says:

        @Samantha, you’re completely right. Many times one child is singled out for sexual/physical abuse while the others are left alone. I never understood why that is. In NY we had an infamous case of child abuse several years ago where a little girl named Nixzmary Brown was beaten in the bathtub by her step-father and left naked and crying on the floor calling for her mother who ignored her. The child died, and in reports afterwards it came out that her siblings were not subjected to the horrors she was. They were given food, while she was beaten for taking a cup of yogurt. They were allowed to use the bathroom, and she had to use a litter box. It was absolutely heart wrenching.

        @nicegirl, my God your story is incredible. So sorry you had to go through what seems like a living hell, but I’m glad you’ve removed yourself from it. Sometimes family are the ones we need to get the farthest away from. If you truly believe this family member is still offending, is there no way you could have anything done to stop it? Have you considered calling the authorities? After reading your post it is a chilling thought to think he is still carrying on without hesitation. All I can say is I wish you strength for yourself, and possibly for others.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        @nicegirl

        Big hug! I know what you mean, word by word.

        I can guess it was Moses who was manipulated by Allen in this case….

        People who never had to deal with an abuser don’t even imagine what kind of power these people have. And they lie, lie and they enjoy seeing families falling apart thanks to their lies…

      • LakeMom says:

        Could not agree more!

      • Zigggy says:

        Exactly.

      • FLORC says:

        +1 to you all!

        Moses seems too deluded and biased to make a fair judgement on this. As a therapist he really seems to be throwing his logic and reason out the window and is being lead with a one sided story woven from a master manipulator.

        For the simple fact of how young Soon-Yi was when Woody started his advances (and it certainly wasn’t 18 as he would like you to think) alone says this man had a thing for younger girls.

        If Moses wasn’t so close and spoke so often of how terrible his mother was and how saintly Woody is his words might have carried more weight, but he just seems to be a mouth piece for Woody.

        Nicegirl
        For what it’s worth you sound incredibly strong and thanks for sharing your story.

      • Stef Leppard says:

        Samtha, I agree with you. How can he say it didn’t happen? Unless he was holding hands with Dylan the entire day, I don’t think he can say what did or did not happen to her. And also it’s true that siblings have different experiences. They can have totally different childhoods with the same parents.

      • Leni says:

        So very true. My siblings knew nothing until I told them as adults about my uncle even though we all spent lots of time together. Moses as a therapist (and I am one) needs to stay the heck out of this. he does NOT know anything unless he was in Dylan’s body.
        I admit I am biased because after he got involved with his own adopted child at 17 or so, I have always thought of him as a pedophile on some level. No they are not the same, but just like Polanski I am horrified at what people will excuse in order to further their own careers such as Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and numerous others.

      • Moi says:

        @ Nicolette, I’m crying right now about your story of that little girl. I can barely bear it.

        I know for a fact that sexual abusers will pick one as a favorite. I have two first cousins, both equally beautiful and more like sisters to me by a landslide, as opposed to cousins. My fathers brother picked the oldest and did horrible, unimaginable things to her. My dad is beside himself and cannot wrap his mind around it. He’s questioned me several times whether my uncle abused me. He did not. He rarely spoke to me, just like the younger of the two (they are both older than me). When I say my cousins are both beautiful, they are literally stunning. I and no one else, could ever know why he chose one to abuse over the other, except for him in his sick mind. But he was abusive two fold. Sexually abusing one, while barely acknowledging the other.

        My father is heartbroken about the entire thing. This is his younger brother and he feels that because he left home to join the Army, that he left my uncle to endure my rich grandfathers array of women coming in and out, some that would abuse my uncle to near starvation at times. He was found collapsed on the street half dead at one point from starvation only. He wasn’t even 18. To me, it’s all a vicious cycle of hurt and abuse.

        It’s all so terrible and I have been reluctant to share my opinion. Because I just could not imagine this situation, with my family being all over the media, having reporters swarming my family and myself, it’s just too much.

        I just hope the truth comes out and soon. And that it will give others the strength to defend themselves and speak up.

        My uncle is serving 10 years in prison now. Well deserved, but not enough. He is sick, and should not be out in society to do it to others. Ever.

    • Boo says:

      It sounds like Dad took the usual rich/ famous tact to hide the truth and protect a lucrative brand/image and either threatened to take away his multimillion dollar trust fund and stop giving money OR sweetened the pot (bribe). Of course this was probably done through someone on Woody’s team.

      There were reports and pictures last year that came out about one of
      his daughters with his adopted daughter/ wife not being comfortable around him and even showed pics of her with him and a body language specialist said it looked like she was abnormally uncomfortable around him. I know someone can repost them if they find them. As my husband what more is there to say about this guy (not man) other then he married his former adopted DAUGHTER for Christ sake

      • Boo says:

        BTW I’m always disgusted (but never shocked) at the level of protectionism and cronyism that goes on for profit and those who go along with protecting criminal behaviour – including CHILD ABUSE and pedophelia – for the sake of money and image. The same celebs who are supporting Woody Allen are the same who would jump on a protect the children/ prevent child abuse campaign if it helped their image and bank account. Shame on those who are once again helping to silence the VICTIM and support the (wealthy/ powerful) perpetrator. At least John Travolta’s victims were are adults (not that it’s OK).

        Keep talking your TRUTH Dylan! It’s your way to healing.

      • katy says:

        Hi Boo!

        I agree with your point that a monetary incentive was put forward with Moses, however I wonder if Moses believes Woody? Like a few testimonials said before, many times family members do not know about the abuse (including the children) and the other kids are manipulated into thinking that the abuser is a wonderful person.

        I’m not sure if there was a threat against a trust fund or inheritance, as I’m more inclined to believe that Woody’s team would be more bribe friendly (especially with family members – a bribe is a much better way to keep someone on your side than a threat). I’m also not sure why Moses would dislike his mother so much – maybe she did smack him around or fly into rages, although from what I can recall she isn’t known for that (at least not towards her children).

      • nicegirl says:

        @Hiddles forever, Thank you for your kind words and I send my support to you, as well. I have read some of your comments on these situations and my heart goes out to you. And to all of our kindred spirits here.

        @Nicolette, thank you as well, and please believe, my quest continues, always. I will keep on.

      • Stef Leppard says:

        Boo, Soon-Yi wasn’t Allen’s daughter. She was Mia’s daughter with Andre Previn. When Allen got together with Soon-Yi he was Mia’s boyfriend. Marrying your girlfriend’s daughter is definitely a step up from marrying your own daughter.

      • K says:

        Stef-Leppard, it’s certainly a step up to marry your step-daughter rather than your own child… but not a very high one, when she’s also your children’s sister, especially if you start the relationship when she’s a teenager and you’re late 50s, and you’re still involved with her mother at the time to boot. The way he isolated her from her family, and all she’d ever known, when she was much too young to truly comprehend the repercussions… not great, is it?

        Manslaughter’s a step up from murder. That doesn’t make it a morally neutral activity.

      • Stef Leppard says:

        @K
        I was being sarcastic 😄. It is a slight step up but considering the situation, it was reprehensible. She was so young when they got together and the whole scenario is just über-creepy. Plus I believe Mia once said “You don’t raise a child and then marry it,” implying that Allen was definitely a father figure to Soon-Yi.

      • gefeylich says:

        Yes. Moses should be glad that Allen didn’t like knocking over little boys – his story and opinion (which I think are motivated by money) might be very different.

        Two of my friends were molested by their stepfather when they were children, and NO ONE, not their mother, not their brother, knew what was happening until years later.

        In this case, one should listen to the child and not the “artist filmmaker” who wrote gleefully about “16 year old twins, Max – think of the possibilities” in one film and in another film played a 40-year-old man having an affair with a 17-year-old girl. Face it, Allen apologists – your buddy is a pig, doesn’t care who knows and is obviously proud of it.

    • Tswise says:

      Slate has a rundown of the timeline of events.
      http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/culturebox/2014/01/did_woody_allen_molest_his_adopted_daughter_22_years_ago_reviewing_the_evidence.html

      I think it’s notable that Moses was 15 when this broke and his relationship with his dad was cut off by the Judge. For one, a 15 year old boy is probably not going to notice or care much about his 7 year old sister’s daily life because he is wrapped up in his own teen dramas, and for two, at 15 he is all teenage hormonal angst and anything that teens perceive as being “unfair” to them (whether it’s a Judge terminating your father’s visitation with you to protect you and your sisters or whether it’s the loss of all the cool things he got to do because his father is famous), they tend to be unable to see full context and wisdom of.

      • Nikkie says:

        Exactly. A teenage boy only pays attention to his much younger sibling (age 7) when ordered to by parents and the resist all the way. Doubt Moses was with Dylan every minute of the day and kept track of her every whereabouts. In households with molestation often the only siblings don ‘t know when their sister or brother is being abused. It is done secretly at select times when no one is paying attention.

      • J.Mo says:

        I had always read that Moses chose not to see his father.

      • pleaseicu says:

        The judge didn’t break off the relationship between Moses/Woody. I think the VF article and the court documents floating around online state that since Moses was 15, he was given the choice by the judge, and Moses chose not to see Woody.

      • Roma says:

        If you read the ruling, Moses was given the choice to see his dad and he chose not to. Considering Woody only adopted him one month before the Soon-Yi affair was exposed, that was a teenager who hated his dad.

        He also ignored Woody for years. It’s only been very recently that they reconciled. My guess is a lot of master manipulation by Woody went into the whole thing.

    • brooklynbreeder says:

      Not according to the family nannies at the time… http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-02/news/mn-952_1_woody-allen

      • Samtha says:

        “She noted that Thompson’s salary, upwards of $40,000 a year, was paid by Allen.”

      • Anon says:

        @Samtha “She noted that Thompson’s salary, upwards of $40,000 a year, was paid by Allen.”
        that was a huge salary in 1993 for almost anyone, wow

      • katy says:

        More than I make now…

      • Decloo says:

        She looked after those kids for 8 years. It’s pretty cynical to imply she would lie because Allen was paying her salary. It would be very unusual for her not to be attached to those kids and want to protect them. She sure paints a horrible picture of Mia. Scary!

    • Janel says:

      Yeah, a VF article written by a friend of Farrow’s is 100% absolutely reliable on all fronts…

      • FLORC says:

        Oh no. So because the journalist was a friend to Mia the whole article which is based on a solid timeline supported by all who were there must be inaccurate? That’s not how things work.
        And lots of people were friendly with Mia and Woody. They were a power couple.

      • vangroovey says:

        @FLORC Fair enough. But then why did everyone discount the Daily Beast article because a friend of Woody’s wrote it? Also, and this is just a general statement, not something you said, but why do people immediately jump to: “How would he now if she was molested?” But then, doesn’t the same hold and shouldn’t we be also saying, “how does dylan know if moses was hit by Mia?” I’m not taking a side here — just questioning the discrepancy in the “peanut galleries” reactions.

    • machen says:

      Who confirmed they were gone for 15 minutes? Maureen Orth who wrote the Vanity Fair article is a close family friend of the Farrows. The nannies later said Dylan wasn’t alone with Woody for more than a couple minutes and was never without her underpants. Quoting the Vanity Fair piece carries the same weight as quoting the Daily Beast piece that Woody’s friend wrote in his favor.

      Moses is an adult and has made a decision to reconnect with a father he had previously loathed. He’s also a therapist – so I doubt Woody would have undue influence over him, especially at this point.

      It’s fascinating that Dylan said ‘my brother is dead to me.’ I wonder how many of Mia’s kids will pull away from her and how many will stick around.

      • Belgian_sky says:

        I fully agree with you. I know people here will hate me, but I find this story very fishy. I have a friend that even under hypnosis testified that her father molested her when in fact, her mother confessed decades later she planted those fake memories in order to have full custody of her kids. So, I know it’s possible to manipulate kids to believe in what we want. Just like my friend, Dylan may truly believe that her memories are real. Of course we’re more inclined to believe that this is true because of Woody Allen decision to live with his adopted daughter. But honestly, I give him the benefit of the doubt, mainly after Moses’ interview.
        http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/03/woody-allen-dylan-farrow-abuse-allegations

      • K says:

        No they didn’t. The nanny paid by Allen made a deposition claiming that, and claiming the other nanny told her so, but the other nanny has written a book: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20103315,00.html
        – which makes it very clear that while she doesn’t know if Dylan was abused or not, she does know it was an unhealthily intense relationship, that he constantly sought for excuses to be alone with her, and that Dylan would lock herself in the bathroom for hours to escape him. She also says he was a cold and selfish man, who could turn on irresistible charm at will, and who was horrible to Mia Farrow who would say he was a genius and needed to be supported, when asked why she put up with it. He was not pleasant to any of the kids other than Dylan (and, one presumes, Soon-Yi) while she knew him, which she contrasted to the very warm and loving care Farrow provided.

        If you’re going to cite nannies as witnesses, you can’t just select the one that supports your own beliefs.

    • Sloane Wyatt says:

      THANK YOU, samtha! ITA, Roma.

      Nicegirl, I’m really so grateful to you as well for sharing with us what your molester did to to you and how he successfully manipulated other family victims to be his ‘champion’. Your abuser is textbook, mirroring Woody Allen’s machinations to discredit his victim. This is some twisted sick shit right here, ripped out of the child abuser’s handbook.

      When I read ““Of course Woody did not molest my sister.” and ”She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him.”, it literally made me sick to my stomach. This is a HUGE sea change from 1992 when 15 yo Moses openly and repeatedly said he believed his little sister in several interviews with reporters, including the Daily News!, and also on television. He even wrote the pivotal letter that led in part to the Court denying Woody Allen custody of ANY of his children with Mia.

      Moses said his relationship with Allen was strong right up to hearing the heartbreaking revelations he was intimate with Soon-Yi. “He adopted me in December, and everything was happy,” Moses said. “Then when we found out he was going out with my sister Soon-Yi . . . ever since then I don’t consider him my father.” Soon-Yi has “never had a boyfriend . . . I guess she never found one. Woody just took advantage of that.”

      Grief hardened into implacable anger after Moses learned of Dylan’s sexual-abuse at the hand of their father. He confronted Allen at their Connecticut home and told him: “You’d better leave now.” [Woody] said, `You don’t talk to me like that.’ He even made a threat that if I don’t shape up, `I’m going to punch your teeth out.”

      “He’s not a friend, not a father,” Moses told the Daily News. “If he gets custody of Dylan and Satchel, I’m going to do anything to stop him from getting custody of me.” – http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920821&slug=1508586

      Does Woody’s concerted PR campaign to discredit and punish Dylan and Mia for telling the whole world he’s a child abuser remind anyone else of Saachi and his ham handed attempts to smear Nigella Lawson? The more he tries to cover himself with new ‘revelations’ decrying his ‘innocence’, the more WA reveals himself to be a child molesting deviant who can’t stoop low enough in his monstrous efforts to tear down his own child and his child’s mother. Expect more to come from Woody’s camp, because just like Saatchi, he’ll stop at nothing. Repeatedly crossing the boundaries of decency is nothing new for this lying evil wretch.

      • FLORC says:

        You’re so right. Woody isn’t simply saying he’s sad that this memory of Dylans has has kept him from his children or how he only wishes the best for her and will welcome her back if she ever wants to reconcile. Nothing like that.

        It’s all about how Dylan, Mia, and Ronan are bitter liars and how if you support him then you will attack Dylan and Mia as aggressively as possible in the press.

        Ugh. What scum. And i’m sure both Woody and Saatchi believe they’re the victims in all this.

      • Decloo says:

        Moses made it clear that, at first, he went along with Mia’s party line because it was drummed into him and he was basically scared of her. It was later that he decided she was fudging the truth and reconnected with his father.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        I know friends and families who have been torn apart by child abuse. Like Dylan, the victims all had some family members that sided with the molester and called the victim unstable fantasists.

        Dylan is completely clear and straightforward that she was sexually abused by Woody Allen, repeatedly. Dylan is publicly stating how betrayed she is by Moses saying her abuse never happened. However, unlike Moses, SHE has never wavered in telling the simple truth, nor has she had to go back and ‘explain’.

        I believe Dylan. I don’t believe Moses’ “Of course Dad never abused my little sister. Because.” I’m also extremely put off by his “Dad and my older sister fell in love, but he never adopted her so it’s perfectly fine. Besides, those nekid photos were artistic.”

        One out of 14 original children supports Woody Allen’s relationship with their sister. I’m sorry that Moses sided with his family’s abuser, but that’s sadly pretty common. It sure plays well to Woody’s PR campaign of blaming the victim.

      • Delorb says:

        @FLORC

        He has been hitting back hard….through his mouthpieces and now Moses. So much love for his daughter. NOT!

        I still believe her. His denials don’t ring true. Moses saying that he did nothing, means, nothing. Predators pick their times carefully, so one can be IN the home and not know what is happening IN the home.

    • reba says:

      @ Nicegirl see below comment number 75, I wish you all the best.

    • OGmutha says:

      The Vanity Fair article was written by Maureen Orth, a close friend of Mia Farrow’s. Not saying it’s overt media manipulation (ahem), but there is obvious bias involved. Same goes for Nicholas Kristof (his blog is where Dylan Farrow’s open letter first appeared), he’s an old friend of Mia Farrow’s as well. Stop being blinded by the understandably emotional nature of this issue and start examining the facts. I know this is the internet, but I’m always hoping that reason will prevail. This is a big media circus that’ll be forgotten soon enough. But you may serve on a jury someday or god forbid be accused of something you’re not guilty of. You sure as hell will want someone to look at facts and reason then right? So afford the same to others. Stop assuming guilt, it’s un-American.

  2. Kiddo says:

    What an ugly story, all around.

    • Frida_K says:

      God, I know.

      The wounds are deep on all sides of the equation and it seems that it will only get worse.

      So sad, and so genuinely dreadful.

    • mia girl says:

      ^this^ 🙁

    • Cazzee says:

      I have a close friend who is from a big Italian immigrant family (9 kids spaced out over 25 years, with the eldest brother acting as family patriarch) and when he was in his late twenties my friend wrote a letter to his family members telling the truth – that his older brother had molested him when he was 10 – 13 years old.

      It split the family apart. About half of the family believed and supported him – including two brothers who confirmed that the same thing had happened to them – while the other half, including his mother and eldest brother, accusing him of making these claims for attention (???) and outright called him a liar. This occurred ten years ago, and to this day it is an ugly outstanding issue and hasn’t been resolved.

      Sorry to see that this seems to be a pattern with big families, where at least some members will take the side of the abuser over the abused person. I’m very sorry to see that.

    • pru says:

      Right?
      Everyone in this family has been so greatly effected by the past. I hope they ALL find the peace they deserve. It’s certainly going to be a lot harder now it’s all been dragged back out in public.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        I disagree, Pru. Woody, or any child molester, doesn’t deserve any peace. I know that’s unenlightened, but it’s how I feel.

      • pru says:

        @ Sloane Wyatt – Oh, I agree with you! I should have been more careful with my words. I don’t think Woody deserves anything, especially peace. I was thinking of Dylan’s family specifically , in which I include Moses, as I feel he has been a victim of Woody’s as well, to a lesser degree.

    • Janel says:

      So true. Have you ever seen the 60 minutes clip of when they interviewed Woody Allen back in 1992? They show a valentine that Mia gave Woody for Valentine’s day in 1991 after she’d found out about the Soon-Yi affair but before the child molestation allegations that August. I think it says it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mqyS36-n7U

      • Peppa says:

        Wasn’t the Valentine a picture of Mia and her kids where Mia put one of the nude pictures of Soon-Yi on a knife and stuck it through her heart (in the picture)? I remember reading something like that the other day.

      • Moi says:

        Oh Woody, you’re so so lucky that I was not Mia Farrow at that moment. That clip. “She went crazy, she’s just went crazy”. When Mia found out about about he and Soon-Yi. He would have seen crazy from me for about an hour, then calm, then never seen……I will leave it at that. Think “Where’s Jimmy H?”.

      • Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

        Thanks for the link – this guy touches his face a lot, which can be the sign of a liar, and justifies everything.

    • Decloo says:

      I know. It’s awful. Makes me miss the Kardashians.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        ITA, Decloo!

        The vapid superficiality of the Kardashians is looking good compared to this horrific dark story.

        This is some really rough stuff. That’s why I had to go over to the Sunny Obama dog story and cause some trouble over there!

  3. David99 says:

    All of this is really ugly!

  4. Monkey Towz says:

    This situation is so effed up I can’t even keep the details straight. All involved need help.

  5. L says:

    What a microcosm of what happens so much in these kinds of cases. It feels like this happens every time. Families split along who believes the accused vs. the victim. Slamming the victim for being a liar or having memories implanted. The ‘evil’ parent. The ‘talented good’ parent

    It’s sad to think about how common all of this is.

  6. Neffie says:

    Wow and i thought my family was dysfunctional lol

  7. Suze says:

    The only thing I am getting out of this horrible saga is that the Farrow/Allen relationship was more f*ck*d up than anyone could imagine.

    I’m old so I remember the PR put out at the time about their unconventional arrangement that somehow worked beautifully. And how Mia was pure mother love, taking in the orphaned and homeless of the world from sheer altruism.

    I have no idea who is telling the truth. It’s all an ugly, ugly mess. I hope some of these kids can find peace.

    • Liv says:

      It’s super confusing. And I really feel for the kids. Whatever happened, Mia and Woody both took it out on them.

      • homegrrrrl says:

        It’s not “super confusing” , but completely heartbreaking. Soon Yi has cognitive delays, and who knows what kind of life she leads; she was/is probably bait that allowed him to adopt more young girls.

        And it’s -textbook- for an abuser to divide a family. Mia may not be without faults, but the unbelievable stress of having to raise children after discovering the pornographic photos Woody took of 14yr old Soon Yi; that’s a living nightmare, and there are few mothers who could fight as courageously as has Mia Farrow.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        The canned nature of so many of the Woody supporters (mouthpieces) is SO textbook that it’s like reading a mathematical equation!

        (DYLAN x coached x false memories x poor thing) + (MIA x vindictive x manipulating) – (WOODY x flaws / NOT child molester) ÷ (TIMING) + (Not Taking Sides) = WOODY INNOCENT

        “It’s not “super confusing.” Truer words never spoken, homegrrrrl.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      @Suze, who wrote: “I’m old so I remember the PR put out at the time about their unconventional arrangement that somehow worked beautifully. And how Mia was pure mother love, taking in the orphaned and homeless of the world from sheer altruism.”

      I’m 58-years-old and remember when this particular sh$t hit the fan as well. I also recall that as soon as the accusation surfaced, a photographer gave up photos from a Nicks basketball game from that same year (I think) of Woddy Allen and Soon-Yi Previn (whom Andre Previn and Mia adopted from Korea at the age of 8), cuddling and holding hands like lovers. The photographer took more than one picture of them because their behavior seemed a little strange for Step-Father and Step-Daughter. I think Soon-Yi was either 20 or 21-years-old at the time.

      Woody Allen was the one who suggested seperate dwellings. After seeing the photos of Woody and Soon-Yi at the basketball game, many people thought their relationship (the one that came out when Mia found those naked Soon-Yi photos) might have started when she was a teenager or younger (she was 10 or 11-years-old when Mia and Woody got together). Having seperate residents certainly gave Woody and Soon-Yi privacy.

      When Mia confronted Soon-Yi with her step-father, by all accounts Soon-Yi went all ‘other woman’ on her mother in a ‘he wants me, not you!’ kind of way. Whatever was said, Mia slapped her.

      It seemed, and still seems to me, as if Mia’s hurt and sense of betrayal was as a ‘mother,’ not a woman. She seemed appalled and outraged by Woody’s behavior as someone whom her children saw as a father figure. I don’t understand why Woody’s camp is trying to paint her as a bitter, scorned, jealous woman who used her children against a man who left her for a younger woman rather than a woman who felt her trust was betrayed by a man who, after a decade of living together, used ‘their’ children as his sexual hunting ground.

      Of course, this is very much my own opinion … but I’ve been aware of Mia Farrow since she first appeared on the TV screen at ’19’ as Allison MacKenzie in the hotter than hot TV series “Peyton Place” (1964-1969), which was based upon an even hotter 1956 novel by Grace Metalious (Mia left the show in 1966). I don’t recall Mia Farrow ever having a reputation of being ‘clingy’ and ‘vengeful’ before her break up with Woody Allen.

      • Peppa says:

        I was a teenager at the time, but I definitely remember the Mia slapping Soon-Yi story. There was a television movie made about Mia’s life and the whole scandal was depicted.

      • Decloo says:

        Mia seems to slap a lot of people.

    • homegrrrrl says:

      I remember the PR on it all as well. I recall woody & mIa “waving at each other from across the park”. That’s not the weird part. I remember her adopting children, and that’s not weird either. I’m all for unconventional and altruistic, these don’t raise “red flags” for me at all; why not set yourself apart front the herd, or start new trends in American culture?

      Rosie ODonnell was one of the first to champion Mia’s plight. Woody Allen had taken pornographic photos of Soon Yi who was 14/15yrs of age and had cognitive delay issues. HE got away with this abuse! IT was shocking that he want’ prosecuted for violence against a child, and violence against a person with “retardation”; which isn’t a slur, it’s description of emotional/social and cognitive delays. Woody “out-famed” his criminal behavior then, and Dylan couldn’t bear this any more. She is a woman now and finally has the strength to begin to identify a criminal.

  8. Jegede says:

    Mia Farrow and Woody Allen are both psychos.
    And their children are probably all damaged to a degree .
    Didn’t one of them commit suicide?
    John Farrow’s conviction is great but timing is unfortunate. A mess all round

    • Irishserra says:

      I think you’re thinking of one of Mia’s brothers. He committed suicide in 2009, I believe.

    • machen says:

      One of Mia’s adopted Korean daughters died of AIDS. She had evidently been an IV drug user at one point and possibly contracted the disease via shared needles – although she claimed she was exposed in a tattoo parlor.

    • Josephine says:

      I absolutely think this is right. They both seem to have significant mental health issues, and unfortunately, Mia’s issues have made it possible for lots of people to doubt. I am old enough to remember when she was more prominently in the gossip rags and there were plenty of interviews of her. I remember thinking back then that she was a black hole of need that she was trying to fill with one adopted child after another. She was completely out of it and flustered in interviews – it was uncomfortable to see. And it doesn’t help that so many people have gotten so many details incorrect. Predators know how to target the weak.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        This thread of Textbook Victim Shaming 101 and Victim Smearing 102 of Mia for committing the crime of marrying a child molester is SO blatant it’s unbelievable.

  9. Patricia says:

    How does Moses think he would even know what went on between Woody and Dylan behind closed doors? This is as weak as Barbara Walters pathetic defense of “he seems like a perfectly nice dad”.
    Just because Mia was a difficult and overly stern mother does not mean that Dylan was not molested. They are separate issues. And I don’t buy the idea that Mia is somehow able to “implant” memories in a child, as if she is some Dr. Evil with a hypnostist ray-gun. She’s an actress, for heavens sake.
    This whole thing is pathetic. A child was molested and now she is getting attacked by her own family. Sadly, I think this happens to children and women all the time. People are vey uncomfortable with the facts so they blame the child.

    • Liberty says:

      I am first struck by the idea of a “family therapist” behaving like a judge and jury instead of as a neutral party. Is this normal?

      Second, per his line of reasoning, who is to say that Moses’s mind and memory were not manipulated by Woody?

      A very sad mess. I believe Dylan’s statement.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        Exactly. It seems like Moses had his memories planted by his father, not Dylan’s.

        Disgusting mess.

      • Jessiebes says:

        + 1

      • machen says:

        He had no relationship with his father for nearly two decades. How would Allen have any influence over him. He may be a family therapist but this is HIS family. Why would he be neutral. It’s possible he has good reason for hating his mother.

      • Nate says:

        @machen: they’re saying it’s only fair for a therapist, in any situation, to remain impartial and nonjudgemental. That’s the sort of thing that makes a person a good therapist. This guy is completely backtracking in the story he gave 20 years ago, where he CHOSE not be with his “father”. It’s completely natural to question why he would claim to be omnipresent in his sister’s and his father’s lives, so much to know that NOTHING could have EVER possibly happened. Can you not see how flawed that is?!?!?

    • Janel says:

      Are you blind? He says that no one was ever behind closed doors on the day the alleged molestation! How can people be so daft! There was only 1 alleged incident of child molestation. Not a pattern. Not multiple times. Only ONE day, ONE incident of child molestation was ever alleged. And that was what was investigated and determined by experts TO NOT HAVE OCCURRED.

      • prayforthewild says:

        You say this as if Dylan herself did not just write an open letter detailing her ongoing abuse.

        An opinion that does not agree with your own does not make another poster blind, or daft.

        Additionally, you were not there, you have an OPINION, nothing more. Your tone and overly emotional protestations are quite odd for a person commenting on a blog post about people whom you do not know.

        We all have a right to voice our opinion here without being insulted, especially by a person commenting all over this thread like a paid shill.

      • Jmo says:

        Why are you so determined to undermine her accounting? The behavior she describes is not just full on sex/intercourse, but an unnatural seduction, a man inappropriately touching and manipulating himself with her and around her. Children are aware of what feels right and wrong. Just because she was his daughter doesn’t mean she could not know or tell a difference between a loving familial embrace and an uncomfortable inappropriate closeness (his head in her lap?!!! WTH!) i “adore” my children and i hug them and kiss them, but i do not stroke them in their erogenous zones, i don’t take them to quiet dark spaces for “cuddling”. The fact that Dylan so acutely remembers and describes the episodes thusly makes me believe her that much more. Allen was infatuated with her but was not stupid. He didn’t rape her. But he abused her, manipulated her, altered her perception of trust and touch and love.

        But i can see how he would still feel that he didn’t “molest” her. He has a completely screwed up view of love and attraction. And for anyone to call BS on her story is to show how shortsighted you are about the full spectrum of abuse.

    • asiont says:

      well, the accusation concerned one particular day so Moses knows what happened because Allen and Dylan weren’t alone “behind closed doors”. the same thing was said by the nannies who were also present. don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious that allen passed the lie detector test and farrow never agreed to take one?? I would advise you to watch a movie ” the hunt” with mikelsen, it’s a really good one.

      • Erinn says:

        Lol, yes. A fictional movie would be perfectly sensible to watch. While we’re at it, let’s all watch 101 Dalmations and then discuss animal abuse and the fur industry.

        The nanies were getting paid more in the 90s BY WOODY than I am today.

        Lie detector tests aren’t unbeatable.

      • K says:

        “The nannies” did not say that. One nanny, Allen’s employee, said that (in a deposition in which she additionally stated that she had not been working the day in question, so in fact had no way whatsoever of knowing what did or did not happen) and claimed the other had told her the same thing. She also made allegations that Farrow was a cold and aggressive parent who treated the adopted children as servants, and very differently from the biological children. The other, however, has written a book which supports Farrow and is scathing about Allen: she on the contrary says Farrow was a loving, involved and supportive mother – an interpretation which was also endorsed without reservation by the judge in the custody case, while saying that Allen was an insensitive, self-involved and selfish father. Further, the nanny supporting Mia in no way says Allen’s behaviour towards Dylan was appropriate – the reverse; she described it as obsessional and smothering – nor that they were never alone. She says she has no idea if abuse occurred, but Dylan’s behaviour regarding her father and regarding personal modesty altered around that time. Dylan would lock herself in bathrooms for hours to escape him, and hated anyone to see her anything but fully dressed.

        Your version of events is essentially trusting Allen’s PR. There were two nannies, and the one present on the day categorically states she can’t say whether it happened or not… because she wasn’t with Dylan and Allen at the time.

  10. Ellen says:

    To my mind, there are two possibilities:

    (1) Allen molested Dylan Farrow.
    (2) Mia Farrow coached Dylan Farrow into believing that she had been molested as part of the custody hearing.

    Research into memory in the past 15 years has demonstrated that memory is extremely malleable. In fact, there have been some distressing books written about that rash of mass child sex-abuse cases that emerged in the early 1990s because it now looks like children are EXTREMELY vulnerable to suggestion when questioned repeatedly about reported abuse.

    It’s not a case of the child lying. The child truly, genuinely, 100% believes the abuse happened.

    I have vacillated wildly on which option I think is more probable: that Allen molested (because the whole situation with Soon-Yi: ICK) or that Farrow manipulated (because a lot of the underlying stuff in her parenting: ICK). I am probably leaning toward the “He molested” side of the spectrum this week. But I don’t know. I wish that psychologists and neuroscientists hadn’t discovered how much all memory can be altered. Blergh.

    • Hiddles forever says:

      Your memory can be altered, not planted all together and not in all cases.
      Coming out after 20 years and repeating something you said years ago in a letter, exactly as it was.. Well damnit, if Dylan is lying let’s give her an Oscar because she is the best actress ever…
      The creep is freaking out, let me tell you…

      • RobN says:

        Of course false memories can be planted. It happens all the time. Google McMartin preschool case for a great example. It’s not a matter of whether Dylan is lying; I don’t think anybody thinks she is lying, just that there’s a chance that she’s simply been convinced something happened when it didn’t.

        I don’t know what happened, don’t like any of the people involved, and doubt the truth will ever come out, but when your entire life has revolved around these charges, and your family continues to go public with them over and over again, it would be pretty hard to acknowledge it didn’t happen at this point.

      • Mel says:

        A person who BELIEVES her/his own words – even if they do not correspond to the truth – is not lying. Lying is conscious deceit.

        Also, as RobN said, memories absolutely can be implanted. I knew a case where a young woman had a grudge against her father , and with the “help” of a bona fide psychiatrist she eventually “remembered” that he had sexually molested her when she was very young. The case went to court. It destroyed the entire family.

        Eventually it turned out (that is to say, SHE herself remembered) that she had misinterpreted a totally benign action – not at the time, when she was young, but much later, with her psychiatrist feeding her “memories”.

        I am not saying that’s what happened in this case. Not at all. All I am saying is that it CAN, and does, happen.

        And there is no doubt that, whatever the truth, Mia’s current crusade is DEEPLY unsound and unhelpful to all those concerned.

    • machen says:

      The other ugly truth is that a significant percentage of molestations accusations that take place during custody disputes are false.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        statistically less than 10%

      • madchen says:

        (name spelled wrong it’s madchen – not machen) A French study says it’s as high as 30%. That being said, 10% is still pretty high.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        A meta-analysis says between 2 and 10%

      • fairyvexed says:

        Fathers are morel likely than mothers to lie about abuse allegations—-and they’re likely to be believed, because people so love the sexist trope of “Women lie about everything.”

      • mercy says:

        Accusations by parents, children, or both? Any studies of adults who’ve slept with their partner’s teenage child? Any idea what the statistics are for abusers lying? I’ll bet it’s significantly higher than 2, 10, or even 30%.

    • TigerLily says:

      Your ‘argument’ sounds like b.s. Neither Dylan nor Ronan have anything to gain by exposing their so-called ‘father’.

      • RobN says:

        Of course they do. People do things all the time to placate one parent or the other, or because a parent does the “if you loved me, you’d support me” routine. Mia has a lovely way of cutting out family members who don’t agree with her; the whole family does it. I’ve never seen so many “they’re dead to me” proclamations out of a single family in my entire life. If you don’t want to be the one she cuts off, then you go along. What they have to gain or lose based on their behavior is their family. That’s a pretty big deal to most people.

        I don’t know what, if anything, happened in this case. None of us do, but to pretend that no kid ever made up one of these stories, or that there’s no benefit to continuing to trot out the story for decades is naive.

    • Lee says:

      I do think there is a third possibility. It is far easier to manipulate existing memories than to create false memories out of nothing and from what I understand, Woody did seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Dylan as a young girl to the extent that he sought therapy. In her letter, Dylan described ongoing behaviour that was very intimate and uncomfortable. It seems entirely possible that Woody came dangerously close to the line of propriety with his young daughter while Mia (consciously or not) encouraged Dylan’s remembering of these events as even more severe given Woody’s relationship with Soon-Yi.

      I have no idea what happened and I wouldn’t presume to know, but it seems like a complicated situation that may have more grey areas than people are comfortable with. And I know from personal experience that those grey areas can be mighty traumatizing on their own even without the added context of being a child and suffering through the unquestionably toxic environment that Dylan was experiencing at the time.

      Regardless, Woody still makes me uncomfortable. I’m glad that Dylan is sharing her story if it helps her heal, I just fear that it also makes her vulnerable. I wish her nothing but strength and peace. The whole thing is f***ed up and all of the children lose in the end. So sad.

      • TG says:

        That is what I couldn’t figure out from the Vanity Fair article where Mia said Woody was seeing a therapist for inappropriate behaviour towards Dylan yet she went on to let him adobt her daughter. Not sure how a judge would sign off on an adoption of a child when said person is or was in therapy for inappropriate behavior toward the child he seeks to adobt and what mother would allow such a thing. That is the weirdest part for me to comprehend. Regardless, I believe Dylan 100%.

      • Gloriana says:

        Wow – this is the first perceptive, intelligent comment I’ve read on this whole thread.

    • Lisa says:

      I think the first possibility (actual abuse) is substantially more likely because of the following reasons:

      1. All the evidence suggests that the relationship with Soon-Yi started before her 18th birthday. Furthermore, there is significant evidence that Soon-Yi has congnitive disabilites that makes her mental state more akin to a younger, rather than older, child. This establishes a pattern of, at the very least, inappropriate sexual behavior towards underage children in his care.

      2. 25 on-the-record interviews—with sources both named and unnamed—attesting that Allen was “completely obsessed” with Dylan. That’s a LOT.

      3. Studies of child abuse allegations suggest that the overall rate of false accusation is under 10%.

      If any one of these factors weren’t present, it would be a much harder call. But when you put all of these together, it really looks like it is much much much more likely than not that Allen molested Dylan.

      Furthermore, (and this is just IMHO) it is super common for guilty men to blame “child custody battle” as the reason for false allegations. If you ever see a domestic violence case where a couple is separating and custody is at issue, the vast majority of defense attorneys will argue “This is a bitchy ex-wife who just wants custody and that’s why she’s bringing these charges now” . So it’s not particularly original and frequently totally false (just in my experience).

      • Nate says:

        Exactly. The most telling tidbit, that I tried to write all over the board a few days back in response to all the woody-bots, was that the judge ruled that the underage children be taken out of woody’s care, and then he riled against woody and his lack of parenting skills, and he also cast a MAJOR side-eye at some of the psychiatrists and friends of woody’s who had somehow “misplaced” evidence of Dylan’s testimony. There WOULD HAVE BEEN A TRIAL if the interests of the child weren’t deemed as a greater need at the time. There was enough evidence to prosecute him, and the judge didn’t let him walk away unscathed. Are we going to accuse the judge of being under Mia’s spell as well??? Rubbish. Whatever Mia’s faults, they cant detract from this sicko’s perversion, and I don’t understand woody-bots saying that it should. It’s completely insane/backward. And how ironic is it that people blame women in custody cases involving sexual abuse? The women want custody, so they say they made up the allegations? How about the idea that they HEARD the pleas of their babies and THEN decided to try and gain sole custody?!?!? Yes, I’m sure there are some who make it up. But most human beings wouldn’t want their children to ever hear or believe such a story if it weren’t, in fact, true. Lastly, Woody Allen shows no sadness for his daughter’s state. He’s only attacking the mother and disregarding the mental health of his child who has accused him. If he truly loved that child, and cared about her, he’d have more to say concerning her. My grandfather was falsely accused of sexually molesting one of his children. Unlike this case and so many countless others, all the siblings took a long, hard look at this accusation and simultaneously lent their support to their sister. She too had been seeing a psychiatrist that made the initial suggestion of sexual abuse! And then this psychiatrist had “confirmed” it in my aunt’s mind through hypnosis. The siblings have rallied around each other AND my grandfather, as there was no evidence whatsoever that this could have occurred, but many of them stay open to the idea if ever anything should come up. Over the years, my aunt has come to terms with the idea that it may have been planted by the psychiatrist. And let me tell you, my grandfather never behaved like woody allen. He was distraught and simply wanted my aunt to have peace. When she wanted nothing to do with him, he stayed away. And when she wanted to talk to him or try again, he welcomed her back with arms open. They had seven children and now have multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There has never been any one of us that was abused by him. Never a shred of evidence or even anything other than exemplary behavior exhibited by him, and he never stopped showing support for my aunt, even when she hated him. My long rant is to say that I DO absolutely understand that memories can be planted, that they can truly be believed in the minds of victims. But when you put all of these things together, when you listen to eye-witness accounts and look at woody’s track record, if you read court documents, it’s plain to see that his behavior definitely warrants suspicion, if nothing more.

    • gefeylich says:

      Allen has long been open in his films about his desire for underaged girls (see Annie Hall; Manhattan). He also loves to portray women as prostitutes and nutjobs. He’s made a lot of money off of this – just look at his films.

      So forgive me for thinking that he’s a megalomaniacal misogynist who thinks he can do anything to any female in his life – and that includes seducing his partner’s underaged daughter AND molesting his adopted daughter. He always wanted to be Frank Sinatra (which I think was at the root of his relationship with Mia Farrow), but what he never understood is that while Sinatra was a womanizer, he was a loving father who also idolized and treasured his children. Which is all highly ironic considering Ronan “Young Blue Eyes” Farrow.

    • Angie says:

      I’ll probably get flamed for this but I’ll offer a third possibility:
      Mia may have unintentionally helped implant these memories in Dylan.

      I’m inclined to believe the nanny that said Woody Allen had a weird, intense, inappropriate relationship with Dylan. From what I read he was in no way a father figure to Mia’s brood (he wasn’t really a stepdad to Soon Yi. He was more like her mom’s weirdly distant “genius” boyfriend). He had zero interest in any of Mia’s children (even Moses) but was a weirdly obsessed with Dylan. It’s possible he did something that made Dylan feel uncomfortable, she said something to her mother and Mia unintentionally lead her to say (and eventually completely believe) things occurred that didn’t .
      We know well meaning law enforcement officers, parents, caregivers, etc have lead children to say things that didn’t happen. PARTICULARLY back when this incident was alleged to occur in the late 80s/early 90s era. Many professionals didn’t know how to interview very young children in such situations. It’s tragic because in a way there are no villains but everyone is a victim: Dylan experiences this as if she WAS molested. For all intents and purposes she was. Mia may believe this happened with all her heart. And Woody may be innocent (at least of this) but forever tainted. Once someone accuses a person of rape, molestation, etc you can’t take it back. It’s out there and people will never look at them the same. Their lives are ruined just like the person who believes they were molested.

      People keep claiming that false memories will degrade. What about in a situation where a parent, siblings, and others are constantly reinforcing those memories and continually telling you “You were molested. Your father did X” I know it’s hard for some to accept but people can be manipulated into believing things happened that did not. Hell people have been manipulated into thinking they’d committed crimes they had not committed. I think a seven year old, in a very stressful home environment (by all accounts Mia was rightfully off her rocker at this point ) could be manipulated. Especially if Woody Allen WAS possibly inappropriate in other ways (e.g., laying with her in bed with her in his underwear). That’s wrong and creepy but it does not automatically imply molestation.
      For what it’s worth: I’m not a Woody Allen apologist. I think he’s a selfish asshole “genius” type. His “the heart wants what the heart wants” rationalization for having an affair with Soon Yi is actually infuriating to me. He’s probably a huge narcissist. But I’m not convinced the man is a pedophile based on the evidence offered. Remember, we’re talking about a 7 year old child, not a teenage girl. I’m sorry I don’t buy that a man that will have sex with a teenager will necessarily also have sex with a 7 year old child.

      OK flame away but I think it’s a legit third possibility.

      • Lee says:

        yes, this is exactly the possibility I was trying to outline above, but more detailed and better explained I think. I won’t assume this third possibility is fact, since I don’t know. and I still think that it implies Woody was inappropriate. But it would mean that all involved are actually telling their truth regardless of how those truths contradict each other.

  11. L says:

    ““She loved him and looked forward to seeing him when he would visit. She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him.

    And you would think a family doctor would know that molested children often act very loving and excited to see their abusers (esp at that age). It’s a well-documented defense mechanism. ‘If I act good and act happy-they will leave me alone. If I’m good I”ll be safe’

    Why is there still the narrative that this is just crazy Mia after 20 years? 1) It’s not about her. and 2) After Andre Previn and Frank Sinatra-the only guy she goes crazy about is Woody Allen? For 20 plus years? It’s Woody’s sad way of defending himself. If he’s so sure he should sue, but of course he won’t do that as then he’d have to testify under oath.

    • Miss M says:

      Thanks for pointing out his professional flaw in the second paragraph!

    • hmmm says:

      “…until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him. ”

      Here speaks the puppet master. Instead of just saying, I don’t believe he did it, he analyses and explains it. That statement has Woody Allen’s fingerprints all over it.

      • Decloo says:

        Why shouldn’t he analyze and explain it? Moses is an adult and a professional family therapist. Why would you think he can’t speak for himself?

      • mercy says:

        @Decloo,

        He can speak for himself, but he can’t speak for his sister’s experience and he did it anyway. Not professional of him at all.

      • sputnik says:

        of course moses can’t know for sure what happened between woody and dylan. he’s only stating his belief, though poorly worded. and while i agree that we shouldn’t be disregarding dylan’s account of it, people seem very quick to disregard moses’ allegations that mia physically and mentally abused him. dylan herself has done that. but their two statements don’t cancel each other out. if woody is guilty, it doesn’t mean mia is not, or vice versa. either way, i feel ill for those children.

        for me, i’m always more inclined to believe the victims. it’s hard for people to relive these experiences by going over them again and again. why would they do so, if it were not the truth?

        we can never know what happened. due to the nature of these allegations, they cannot be proven or disproven. this is a horrible truth for most victims of abuse. it’s their word against someone else’s. all we can do is decide who we believe.

    • katy says:

      Woody is also an egomaniac who likes to believe women fawn over him (I’ve always felt he only became involved in movies so that he could star in them with a very gorgeous woman as his love interest). I would think that “Mia going crazy over him” is a way to stroke his ego.

    • machen says:

      Actually her behavior with both Sinatra and especially Previn was pretty crazy. Previn wanted to return to his wife and Mia’s response to that was to publicly announce her pregnancy by Previn. It was a PR nightmare when Previn’s wife Dorie attempted suicide and had to be hospitalized shortly after the announcement. Mia went on her merry way though. Regardless of what happened with Dylan, she’s a suspect personality.

      • mercy says:

        She reportedly maintained good relationships with both of her ex-husbands long after they split. Is that relevant to her situation with Allen and the kids, too? I think not, but if you’re going to bring them up there is no reason to leave that info out.

      • sputnik says:

        @ mercy

        yeah, she admittedly had a VERY good relationship with her ex husband, given she’s claimed he could have fathered ronan while she was with woody. doubt she’s very popular with her ex-husband’s wives though.

        not that this has anything to do with the case in hand. at all.

      • gefeylich says:

        Yes, a “suspect personality” who is an adult and had relationships with adult men, no matter how “immoral” and convoluted they may have been. Throwing shade on the adult woman in the scenario is just another way child abusers (or their mouthpieces) deflect attention away from their own acts. “Hey, look over there – Mia was fooling around with other men so clearly she’s unstable and made up all these stories about the saintly artistic GIANT Woody Allen who is above all scrutiny BECAUSE HE IS AN ARTIST OMG.”

        Dylan was SEVEN when she was abused. She had no power, gave no consent and had no recourse until now. Why are all these people straining to cast doubt on her account of hideous events in her life involving her father? It’s disgusting.

    • Janel says:

      I think you have to take his statements as an older brother at the time. He was a teenager at the time, so he understood much better what was going on compared to Dylan (who was 7) or Satchel/Ronan (who was 4, 5, or 6). As other commenters have mentioned, it is possible to create the impression of false memories. Especially with children by people they trust.

      Please recall that there was never a pattern of abuse that was alleged! So your statement that victims often display happiness toward their abusers is not relevant. There was only one – ONE – alleged event in August of 1991, after which it was investigated IMMEDIATELY because Mia took her Dylan to the doctor the following day! And after that, Woody never saw Dylan again without supervision. There wasn’t some pattern of events that occurred over time in which she was allegedly abused!

      People seem to be concluding without looking at what was alleged without their critical thinking caps on. Seriously, people!

      • fairyvexed says:

        You’re wrong and you’ve been informed of this. There was a pattern of abuse. There’s also a pattern of you asserting the same inaccuracies repeatedly.

    • Decloo says:

      Woody is the only guy who dumped her for a younger woman, her daughter. That would set anybody off. By the way, Mia became pregnant by Andre Previn while he was still married. Previn’s poor wife went off the deep end and had to be hospitalized.

      • mercy says:

        The only words that matter: her daughter. Allen was having a sexual relationship with her teenage daughter. The sister of her children with him. Any parent who would not be deeply upset about that kind of behaviour from their partner doesn’t deserve to be called a parent.

    • Nate says:

      That’s always been a hilarious point for me, too. woody has always tried to make it sound as though he was the best lover and father there ever was, and that his partner was simply jealous that he had found a new love interest. Laughable. Let’s all just conveniently forget that his new “woman” was in fact a little girl that he had known since she was 8 years old, and the fact that she was the mentally handicapped, adopted daughter of his life-partner of 12 years. This is the perfect scenario for him, as he was able to groom her from the beginning, and probably saw a future wife in her that could be manipulated (seeing as her mind wasn’t all there). This is out in the open, as are his previous relationships and marriages to underage women, as well as his misogynistic and perverse quotes about women and girls that he’s made over the years in interviews. And yet, we’re supposed to doubt his child when she says that he sexually abused her, after eye-witnesses and a courtroom judge ALSO say that he behaved inappropriately with the same girl in other ways? It’s like people want proof that the sky is blue or they won’t believe it.

  12. Jackson says:

    Ugh. Look, there are only two people in this whole world who know with 100 percent certainty what happened, and brother Moses is not one of those two. And I’m sure we all can recall a day from our, what…seven years old childhood?…the particular events of that day, what rooms people were in for the entire freaking day, who was alone with whom, right? That sounds incredibly ridiculous. He should have just said he supports his father and left it at that.

    • BendyWindy says:

      He wasn’t seven at the time, Dylan was. He would have been 15.

      • Jackson says:

        Ok, and yet I still feel the same way. What 15 year old, or any person, really, keeps track of everyone’s whereabouts and comings and goings during any given day? Who was with whom, where they were, and for how long? I still find it strange. And I also still believe he can’t say with certainty what did or did not happen.

      • BendyWindy says:

        I agree, I was just clarifying.

      • Jackson says:

        @BendyWindy – Sorry! I did sound a bit twitchy there!

    • Janel says:

      Well, if you think about it, it was a memorable event because it’s the last day Woody – their father – ever spent at Frog Hollow, and after immediately after that, claims of molestation were brought. So, yeah, I think a 15 year old would be cognizant of what happened that day – more so than a 7 year old.

      He can clearly say that no one was on their own. Plus, the nanny that day had been reported in the past to have said that Dylan was never out of her sight for less than 5 minutes and she was NEVER without her underwear as Mia alleged.

      • RobN says:

        I agree. This is the day the family he had known fell completely apart. That stands out in your mind. It wasn’t an ordinary day that passed without significant events. It was a defining day in the lives of all of these people; that a teenage would remember the specifics isn’t particularly surprising.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        You know Janel, people who defend a child molester don’t appear good, really.

        And to be honest, did you read the letter at all? Dylan said she felt uneasy all the time, I can sympathise with that, been there done that, unfortunately.

        And it makes me laugh when people say about implanted memories, I can remember many things (mainly the horrible ones!) , since I was four.

        Moses is a big arse against his sister, surely he has his reasons, still an arse though.

      • Decloo says:

        To Hiddles: I take exception with your tone directed at Janel. I don’t believe anyone here is “defending a child molester.” There are those of us who believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty and that the allegations of molestation should not be tried in the court of public opinion. There are hundreds of stories on the internet that are nothing more than speculation. Both sides in this ugly saga have points supporting their stories. We don’t know what happened, but convicting an innocent person in a maniacal witch hunt is no better than child molestation. Those who are pointing out holes in Mia’s allegations are merely trying to give justice a chance.

      • nicegirl says:

        ITA HIDDLES FOREVER.

    • Delta Juliet says:

      Are you questioning Dylan’s memory of a traumatic event? Because let me tell you, I can remember with DISTINCT CLARITY the events leading up to my sexual assault. Which happened when I was fairly young, 24 years ago. So I hope you are not suggesting she wouldn’t remember something like that.

  13. foxyw says:

    It’s interesting that Moses sees his father’s transgression as “falling in love with Soon Yi,” rather than “taking naked pictures of his girlfriend’s underage daughter and then starting an affair with her by the time she was 20 and ultimately shattering the family.” His words imply an innocent courtship, and it was anything but.

    • Kiddo says:

      Yeah, brain-washing all around in the wasteland and devastation of two gigantic egos.
      At least at this moment all I can feel is gratitude toward my parents, who, although far from perfect, never were this selfish and demented.

    • littlestar says:

      I found that extremely odd too, that he worded it to make it sound like the relationship between Allen and Soon-Yi was/is normal. So obviously he isn’t looking at everything with a completely open objective eye either.

      • machen says:

        I don’t think he sounds like it’s normal. It sounds like after nearly 20 years he’s gained acceptance of it which is very different.

    • Gail says:

      That’s what caught my eye too. Your father married your sister and you seem to be okay with it. Yeah, you are a completely unbiased family member!

    • Violet says:

      Yeah, I was struck by that as well. But it’s no real surprise — after all, pedophiles don’t just groom their victims, but also those around them, to accept abuse as normal.

      Seems to me that family therapist Moses is on the wrong side of the desk.

    • MrsBPitt says:

      I’ll bet Woody was abusing Soon Yi since she was a little girl, too! He only got caught when Mia discovered the photos…

      • sapphoandgrits says:

        I agree with this. I think the odds that they just magically fell in love and didn’t do anything physical until after she turned 18 beggar belief.

    • machen says:

      The photos were skeevy but she wasn’t under aged. He’s now been with her for nearly two decades. It doesn’t absolve the initial act but it mitigates it.

      • fairyvexed says:

        We don’t know when they got together. We don’t even know what her true age is. Taking explicit nude pictures is a pretty intimate act, one that usually occurs well down the line in relationships. He’d probably been grooming her for ages.

    • Janel says:

      Except that Soon-Yi WASN’T underage when it occurred. The photos were found in January 1991 and allegedly the affair had started in December (1990). Soon-Yi was a street orphan when she was adopted, so there is no record of her birth. Her estimated birth year is 1970-1972, making her 19 or 21 at the time of the affair blowing up.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        Still disgusting sorry. At 21 I wouldn’t have posed naked in front of a creep, not even George Clooney…

      • fairyvexed says:

        We don’t know her true age. Nor when Allen started grooming her.

      • Decloo says:

        I wonder if Mia posed naked for Frank Sinatra when she got with him when she was 19 and he was 60?

      • mercy says:

        @Decloo,

        Mia’s mother wasn’t in a relationship with Frank, and Frank’s children were not Mia’s siblings. Allen took sexually explicit pictures of his children’s teenage sister – while he was in the process of adopting another child with their mother, in fact.

        There is no amount of ignoring or glossing over this fact that mitigates Allen’s actions or absolves him of responsibility. It doesn’t mean he molested Dylan, either, but it does infer a lot about who he is as a person and father.

  14. Meme says:

    Woody Allen is creepy and so freaking overrated. have no idea what the truth here is BUT he did photograph his STEPDAUGHTER when she was 17 and married her (yeah, I know Woody…the heart wants what it wants).

    • sputnik says:

      as creepy and inappropriate as the woody soon-yi thing was, there’s no need to willfully spout inaccuracies. she was not his stepdaughter.

  15. iheartjacksparrow says:

    Before everyone jumps on the “Woody is a monster, burn him at the stake” bandwagon, do an internet search for the McMartin Pre-School case and how false memories can be implanted in children.

    • tracking says:

      There is a big difference between 2-4 year-old children vs. a seven year old imo.

      • mercy says:

        @KB,

        I’ve looked for the source of the nanny information and all I could find was one nanny recanting and claiming she and the others had been pressured by Mia. Her recant came after she had resigned her position in the Farrow home (her salary had been paid by Allen), and she said they didn’t leave Dylan unsupervised around Allen.

    • Samtha says:

      Were the memories of Allen putting his head in Dylan’s crotch implanted in the babysitter’s mind too? Or him making Dylan suck his thumb? Or him lying in bed with her, wrapped around her body while he was in his underwear? Were memories of him touching Dylan’s body inappropriately while she was naked implanted in Maureen O’Sullivan’s mind after she witnessed it?

      “Implanted memories” don’t last, by the way. The power of suggestion will only hold for so long.

      • L says:

        This. There were other witnesses that gave testimony at the time-this is not a case of a implanted memory.

      • KB says:

        Some of the nannies recanted their testimony and claimed Mia coerced them to lie. The only conclusion I can draw is this whole situation is ridiculously twisted and messed up. I do know I regret throwing Cate under the bus yesterday for not saying more.

      • pleaseicu says:

        KB: wasn’t it revealed that the only nanny/household staff who recanted their words and blamed Mia were the ones whose salaries, it was later revealed, were paid solely by Woody Allen?

        Seems like the kids at the center of this had very few people truly looking out for them during the investigation and then the custody battle. The fact that so many of the children have such successful, independent, fulfilling lives is a testament to them.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        It’s difficult to implant a memory and eventually the false memory breaks.

        Wonder how much assistance Woody is to Moses as he works on his photography career?

      • Tara says:

        And that was a pattern of abuse… For those of you saying it was a one-time thing and not a pattern.

    • Shannon1972 says:

      What tracking and Samtha said.
      And why do people keep trotting out this one incident over and over? They make it seem like there is an epidemic of false accusations and implanted memories. If it’s so incredibly common, why aren’t there more examples?

      • KB says:

        They were everywhere back in the 90s. So the question becomes is that what happened or is that why Allen’s lawyers used it as their defense?

        The only thing that bothers me is why didn’t Mia take a lie detector test? Especially after Woody passed his. I’d be that much more willing to prove I was telling the truth.

      • jc126 says:

        There were LOTS of child molestation cases in the 1980s. At the time, there was a prevailing (lack of) wisdom that “kids don’t lie”, and the notion that initially kids would deny abuse, so you had to keep pushing to get them to tell the truth. Eventually this awful way of questioning and accepted “wisdom” fell by the wayside, though not before plenty of people had their lives ruined.

      • pleaseicu says:

        Woody passed the lie detector test set up and administered and released by his own attorneys. And lie detector tests aren’t admissible in court proceedings because they’re easily manipulated and generally held as unreliable.

        I’d be more willing to accept that this was part of the 90’s implanted/coerced memories thing if there wasn’t so much corroborating evidence from others and Woody’s own actions and changing story and physical evidence backing up Dylan’s words and that her actions during and for years after were completely consistent with a sexual abuse survivor. It wasn’t just her memories like in other cases, she was also exhibiting the behaviors of a child who’d been sexually abused.

      • KB says:

        @pleaseicu really? I thought police asked Mia too and she wouldn’t. This whole thing has so many sides. Really sad for the kids.

    • fairyvexed says:

      Those memories tend to degrade with age. Dylan’s obviously haven’t—-while Moses is saying completely different things now than he was then.

  16. Sayrah says:

    Jeez what a mess!

    • Diana says:

      No kidding!

      • Shannon1972 says:

        No snark, but that’s the understatement of the year.

      • Katija says:

        THIS.

        Just mess. Mess all around.

        I think Woody is innocent. I think that his tastes run more towards the barely legals than the children. I think Mia is manipulative and I don’t put this past a narcissistic Hollywood actress who wants revenge after being publicly humiliated. I think that if he were a legitimate pedophile, other kids would have ALSO came forward, as is what has happened with both Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson.

        But at the SAME TIME, I feel like an utter a-hole, because I’m denying the testimony of a girl claiming to be a rape victim. It’s like, should I just buy myself a ticket to Steubenville now???

        MESS.

  17. Jac says:

    There are only two people who know what happened that day, and anything anyone else has to say is just an opinion.

  18. BendyWindy says:

    It’s telling to me that while we’re all so quick to believe Dylan (AND I’M NOT SAYING WE SHOULDN’T BE!), people will dismiss Moses accusations of physical abuse at Mia’s hands. It sounds like both Mia and Woody are fked up and did bad things to the kids. How sad for everyone involved.

    • Kiddo says:

      I don’t think so. Life is more nuanced than one dimensional good guys and bad guys. The thing is, that all of the accusations could be true, simultaneously. In fact, earlier I mentioned something like this. Children in chaotic households are more ripe for the picking in terms of becoming prey for outside or internal abusers.

      At any rate, neither of the adults did ‘the right thing’ by all of these children.

      • machen says:

        @Kiddo – the voice of reason. So relieved to read the word ‘nuance.’ It’s been lacking,

    • Samtha says:

      I don’t think so, because Mia’s actions toward Moses really have no bearing on Woody’s actions toward Dylan, and vice versa.

    • Renee28 says:

      That’s the first thing I noticed. On several sites people have made comments about him lying so he can get Woody’s money. His accusations shouldn’t be any less valid. I don’t think anyone will ever know for sure what happened in this family but it was dysfunctional to say the least.

      • pleaseicu says:

        I think that comment re: Moses getting the money stems from the story floating around years ago that Moses only spoke to and reunited with Woody when Moses needed a loan from Woody to help him with some financial troubles he was having. Overnight Moses went from not speaking to Woody for over a decade to being his biggest defender and cutting off Mia and the rest of the family and turning completely on Dylan and Mia and the rest of his family and basically saying they’re all dead to him. It’s possible other factors played into how it all played out and since the loan factor is the most “flashy” or controversial it’s the one that gets the most traction.

        Honestly, it’s possible that Moses was physically abused by Mia. But that doesn’t automatically make Woody innocent of sexually abusing Dylan, like Moses says it does. No, it’s entirely possible that *both* things occurred and both are true and both parents are messed up and seriously damaged their children.

      • KB says:

        There was also testimony that Moses told a nanny back when he was 14 that he thought Mia was making it up. But the nanny’s salary was paid for by Woody Allen. Ayayai. This stuff is exhausting for me, I can’t imagine what it’s like for everyone involved.

      • mercy says:

        He has a right to talk about his experiences, but if he’s going to talk about Dylan she has every right to dispute it. He’s the one who linked his story to hers, and glossing over Allen’s behaviour with his teenage sister does damage his credibility.

      • Decloo says:

        Why does everybody assume that because the nanny’s salary was paid by Woody that she would lie in his favor about what went on? There ARE moral and ethical people out there. She looked after the kids for 8 years. You don’t think she would have their best interests at heart?

    • Shannon1972 says:

      You’re right. Moses could absolutely be telling the truth about Mia’s actions towards him. But that still has no bearing on whether or not WA abused Dylan. I also think that if you are prepared to believe Moses about his mother, then Dylan should be accorded the same treatment. One doesn’t negate the other.

      It’s deflection…the strategy seems to be “let’s keep pointing the finger at how screwed up Mia is” in order to deflect from the real issue at hand, and that is solely Dylan’s accusation against Woody.

      • BendyWindy says:

        I didn’t mean to imply that it has anything to do with Woody and Dylan. I’m just saying that it seems like people want to dismiss his abuse allegations because it doesn’t fit with the narrative. I think it’s more likely that both of them were abused in different ways.

      • Shannon1972 says:

        BendyWindy, You are absolutely right, and I don’t think anyone should dismiss Moses’s allegations against Mia out of hand. If they were not coupled with a take-down of his sister, and as part of a larger agenda put forward by his father, I would take them at face value. It is absolutely possible that both things happened, which is just heartbreaking.
        However, within the larger strategy of discrediting Mia as a crazy, scorned, obsessive, abusive, negligent, unemployed actress…the list goes on…in order to discredit Dylan by association, drowns out the allegations he is making.
        Does that make sense? I feel as if I’m not expressing myself clearly here.

    • sputnik says:

      exactly. i was saying this earlier. it’s crazy to me that people are willing to completely disregard moses’ statements of his abuse. he can’t know for sure what happened with dylan, only what happened with him. the same way that dylan cannot dismiss moses’ accusations, as she did yesterday. it’s all a big horrible mess.

  19. tracking says:

    For me, a critical detail is that Dylan was 7. Implanting memories in a younger child seems a plausible scenario, but seven-year-olds tend to have excellent memories! Even though Mia clearly does have a vindictive streak (and wouldn’t you, under the circumstances?), I don’t see any compelling reason not to believe Dylan.

    • pleaseicu says:

      She was seven (and I do know about the implanted memories from the 90’s) but unlike in those implanted abuse situations there is more evidence that corroborates Dylan, beyond Dylan’s words and Mia saying she believes her daughter.

      Everything taken alone could probably be handwaved, but rarely do things like this occur in a vacuum and all of it considered together, coupled with Dylan’s words and her behavior subsequent to when the abuse allegedly occurred, a pattern of corroborating circumstantial evidence emerges that indicates he most likely did molest her IMO.

      But in the end the only people who know 100% are Dylan and Woody. Woody has to live with what happened in the attic that day and I hope Dylan continues to be strong and eventually find peace and closure in her life (easier said than done though when half the world is screaming at you that, at best, you don’t know your own mind and, at worst, you’re lying).

      • Janel says:

        @pleaseicu – Actually, no, there’s not “more evidence that corroborates Dylan.” That’s why the investigators concluded at the time that the incident – there was only one alleged incident, not a pattern – that Dylan’s story was either the results of an emotionally damaged imagination, the mother’s coaching, or some combination of both.

      • Shannon1972 says:

        Janel, you’re right that’s what Allen’s investigators found.
        “On April 20, 1993, a sworn statement was entered into evidence by Dr. John M. Leventhal, who headed the Yale-New Haven Hospital investigative team looking into the abuse charges. An article from the New York Times dated May 4, 1993, includes some interesting excerpts of their findings. As to why the team felt the charges didn’t hold water, Leventhal states: “We had two hypotheses: one, that these were statements made by an emotionally disturbed child and then became fixed in her mind. And the other hypothesis was that she was coached or influenced by her mother. We did not come to a firm conclusion. We think that it was probably a combination.”

        However, please also note:
        Thibault cited a litany of practices employed by the Yale–New Haven clinic that at least one expert put into question. Based on an examination of court documents and the report, he wrote, “The Yale team used psychologists on Allen’s payroll to make mental health conclusions.” He reported that the team had destroyed all of its notes, and that Leventhal did not interview Dylan, although she was called in nine times for questioning. They did not interview anyone who would corroborate her molestation claims. Judge Elliott Wilk, who presided over the custody hearing brought by Allen, wrote in his decision that he had “reservations about the reliability of the report.”

        This is what state experts concluded:
        Unlike the Yale–New Haven staff, the state investigators found Dylan credible. “When a little girl says someone digitally penetrated her,” one of them told me, “if a child relates pain to the incident at that age, that’s credible.” Maco had steered clear of any questioning of Dylan during the Yale–New Haven inquiry. After Wilk’s decision, however, he decided he needed to see for himself if she could be relied on to take the witness stand. “I sat down with the child, with my secretary, with another female from the state police, and we rolled around—we had stuffed animals. As soon as I broached the idea of Woody, the child just froze. Nothing.”

        http://jezebel.com/what-we-should-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-the-dylan-1514959143

        As many have said, the only ones who know what happened, or didn’t happen, that day is Dylan Farrow and Woody Allen. I choose to believe Dylan, but that’s just my opinion. This is all just too sad.

    • machen says:

      She was also thoroughly examined by child psychiatrists and pediatricians who were expert in abuse cases. They found her to be extremely imaginative, obsessively attached to her mother and very, very fragile. They also found no evidence of abuse. I’m not the Allen apologist here but there are so many unexplained factors in this particular case. I believe Dylan believes she was molested but not one of us on this board knows what really happened.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        7 year old kids ARE extremely imaginable. That is normal developmental behavior.

      • fairyvexed says:

        If Dylan and Farrow were going to falsify a claim don’t you think they’d make it provable?

        Also, is this the team of experts who destroyed their notes, refused to testify, and were in Allen’s pay?

      • KB says:

        @fairyvexed How would they make a false accusation provable? You can’t prove something that didn’t occur.

        As I understand it, the Yale-New Haven experts were not on Woody’s payroll, but they used notes from at least one other therapist who was. They were brought in by the police for the abuse investigation. However, they refused to testify in the custody case, not the criminal case (were Allen charged). You can’t refuse to testify in a criminal case. You’d just be subpoenaed.

        The judge that was ruling on the custody case said the opinions of two psychotherapists who had interviewed Dylan and said she hadn’t been abused, were colored by their loyalty to Allen. I don’t think they were part of the Yale-New Haven team, but possibly the ones the team took notes from. If they had taken notes from therapists that were loyal to Woody, then any conclusions they made based on those notes would be biased.

        I’ve tried to make sense of why they would destroy the notes, and why it wasn’t a bigger deal. I did read that therapists may have to abide by the rules of the institution that employs them (in this case Yale-New Haven) on destroying or keeping notes. But if they were brought in by the police, you’d figure their notes would be considered evidence. I believe it is standard to keep notes on child abuse cases for a period of time, in case they are needed for a trial. The notes had been destroyed prior to the judge’s ruling in June of 1993, while the charges against Allen weren’t dropped until October of 1993. I don’t understand why they weren’t charged with obstructing justice or something.

  20. Kim1 says:

    I was molested and my siblings had no idea. Very few molesters engage in group molestation or molest in front of witnesses.In the VF article it mentioned Moses is not in contact with any of the siblings.He believes Woody ,it happens.Has he ever said that Woody,Dylan’s dad should not
    have been sleeping with her sister?

    TMZ has a tape of WA talking/joking about having sex with a group of 12 y.o. On Inside Edition some lady who WA started dating when she was under age was defending him.

  21. queenfreddiemerucry says:

    I think siblings can grow up in the same house and be treated very differently. I also think this is not cool to trash your sister. It’s obv that he likes Woody and hates Mia but leave your Sister alone.

    Also wasn’t Soon-Yi eight years old when Woody moved in with Mia. I always think that relationship started much ealier than reported.

    • machen says:

      Soon Yi was adopted when she was 7 or 8, so she had to have been older when Allen and Farrow began their relationship. Also, Allen never lived with Farrow and according to Farrow, never so much as spent the night in either of her homes.

      • littlestar says:

        But somehow him being there during the day doesn’t count? Who cares if he never spent the night, he was Soon-Yi’s mother’s boyfriend for crying out loud. Regardless of whether they were actually close or not, it is still EXTREMELY shady behaviour on Allen’s part.

      • mercy says:

        I can understand having questions or doubts about this case, but it always raises red flags with me when someone makes a big issue of whether Allen lived in the same home as Soon-Yi, or had adopted her, etc. while conspicuously failing to acknowledge that she was the sister of Allen’s children. They lived under the same roof as siblings for years while Allen was in a long-term relationship with their mother. Allen took sexually explicit pictures of his childrens teenage sister. Even if one refuses to believe that he could be have molested Dylan, this is an extremely selfish person with one heck of a screwed up moral compass who doesn’t deserve to be trusted, imo.

  22. HK9 says:

    I still believe Dylan.

  23. LAK says:

    It won’t matter if they all come out in support of Allen because Dylan truly believes she was molested. End of.

  24. BeckyR says:

    This story gets curioser and curioser…….sad for all concerned.

  25. Mrs. Darcy says:

    He should not be dismissing her claims like this outright unless he can verify he had eyes on her at all times, this is just coming across as apologism. Suggesting she is missing out not knowing her father also seems insensitive and strange for a psychiatric worker. I do however believe that there are many more sides to this story than the cut and dry one Mia is trying to sell, that her family of 15 children, several of them severely disabled, was likely far more than she could cope with, nannies or not. After the strain of the Allen split and Dylan investigation, I do wonder why she felt compelled to keep adopting more children, immediately after such a stressful time. Altruism is all well and good but it doesn’t seem she ever stopped to question whether she was most suited to care for so many. I think she has a martyr complex that her actual mothering failed to live up to in some cases if there’s a modicum of truth in Moses’ account.

    He and Soon Yi were adopted in the same era, and Mia herself recounts she had difficulty bonding with Soon Yi, and apparently Moses too if this is how he regards the woman who raised him. Why she kept adopting more kids is weird to me when she struggled with some of the ones she already had, why not make more of an effort with the already adopted children instead of growing a huge brood that would only alienate them more? I do think she has a dark streak, that once betrayed you are out for good. She hit Soon Yi when she found the pics, immediately turning on her own child (who had of course betrayed her, but I did find her coldness in recounting Soon Yi’s childhood in her book a bit telling). Anyway I don’t think Moses will change any minds here, if anything it will just fan the flames.

    • Mingy says:

      Great points, Mrs. Darcy. I remember thinking of her as Saint-Mia when reading her book (until the parts about Dylan). What an incredibly kind soul she was for taking on so many children with special needs, so badly hurt – physically and mentally. Yet, I always wondered how she could possibly take on so much while filming all those movies at that time. I don’t see her in the same light anymore.
      This whole thing is so beyond messed up. I understand Dylan’s need to write what she wrote, and briefly questioned her timing, but I totally get that seeing her abuser being praised like he is, is what broke the camel’s back.

  26. aquarius64 says:

    Didn’t Jerry Sandusky’s wife go on the record to defend his crimes? People Magazine is the go-to publication for celebs needing positive PR. Allen must know by now that his Hollywood friends and colleagues can’t go out and publicly defend him without risking backlash (see Barbara Walters’ and Stephen King’s walk-backs of their initials comments and tweets within 24 hours of making them.) The best he can do is have hired publicists and lawyers and family members who look like they’re in denial to do it for him.

    • Hiddles forever says:

      Exactly!

      Jerry Sanduski’s went to court to defend her husband… And the accusers were even many in that case… Some people like to live in denial… Moses seems to hold a grudge on Mia (or something worse…) and he borrowed money from Woody… Do the math.
      Bitter brother and disgusting human being…

    • madchen says:

      Allen has rarely spoken publicly about the case. People Magazine would prefer to hang him than lionize him because vitriol and misery sell more magazines. Moses is an adult and whatever his personal reasons, clearly wants to be heard.

      Stephen King did not defend Allen at all. He made a brief comment about Dylan’s letter using a term that’s commonly used in Maine to describe something that’s a pain in the ass. My take on it was that he was disgusted by the circus surrounding the story, didn’t care to be asked about it and bit back a little.

      Nobody cares what Barbara Walters thinks. She’s been out of it for years.

    • Janel says:

      Difference being that Moses is saying no one was alone with Woody that day. People seem to keep missing that fact. It was a planned visit to the farm where he interacted with all his children. And again, there was only ONE alleged incident. Not multiple, not a pattern. So, yeah, the fact that the older brother says that no one was alone that day with Woody matters.

      • Tara says:

        Like Moses knew where everyone was at any given moment. Dylan absolutely details a pattern of abuse, not just one incident.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        Honestly, my brother was not always there when I got abused. Do you think abusers are so stupid?

        I would like that people who have not a faint idea what means to be abused as a child would also refrain from posting this silly misinformation.

        Unless Moses was in that room, he has no clue about what happened. He is only defending Allen, period.

  27. Shannon1972 says:

    Wow, CB commenters called this one days ago. Dylan Farrow is undergoing a massive hatchet job, and I’m glad that People at least let Dylan respond to Moses. There have been so many favorable WA articles and op-ed pieces in the past few days. WA must be throwing money around like rain to get all of these people to come out in his defense. Barbara Walters and Stephen King still have me shaking my head. #palpabledouchery

    Moses should take a seat – a family therapist should know better. He wasn’t in the attic, and isn’t in a position to judge his sister’s accusations, or her relationship with her father.

    • Meredith says:

      @ Shannon1972 : yes, a family therapist should know better. I would feel very uncomfortable with this is I was one of his clients. It really makes you wonder how neutral and objective he can be when dealing with other people’s issues.

      • Shannon1972 says:

        I would definitely be uncomfortable with how dismissive he is of his sister. I hope he isn’t treating any families dealing with sexual assault issues, as he really diminished any chance of objective impartiality.

      • katy says:

        A family therapist who won’t even speak to his own family… hm.

      • madchen says:

        Why does being a family therapist exclude him from having issues with his own very complicated family? If anything it may make him more compassionate and empathetic to others’ family misery.

      • Tara says:

        Uh yeah. Moses seems SO compassionate and empathetic to his family. At least child molesters know where to go to buy their sympathetic expert witness.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        a family therapist dismissive of his own sister’s alleged molestation is problematic. If he’s not compassionate and empathetic towards his own sister, it does not bode well towards his empathy and compassion for his clients.

      • mercy says:

        @madchen,

        His public response to his sister was anything but compassionate or empathetic. Quite the opposite.

    • OhDear says:

      I hope Dylan was and is prepared for the onslaught and has people supporting her.

      What’s going on with the Farrow/Allen family is not atypical of what happens when someone claims abuse, just far more public. And people wonder why sexual assault and other abuse victims don’t come forward.

      To be fair to Stephen King, he issued a seemingly sincere apology: http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/stephen-king-really-really-apologizes-for-inadvertently-suggesting-on-twitter-that-dylan-farrow-is-a-bitch.php

      The apology has its da fuq moments, though (i.e. citing his books as evidence of his respecting women and knowing about abuse?)

      • Shannon1972 says:

        Thanks so much for the link. I read his apology and he does seem sincere. However, that tweet really does look like he was saying there was an air of palpable bitchery in the NYTimes letter. I’m sure he was unprepared for the onslaught of responses calling him out, and his backpedaling just made it all worse. Glad he chose to apologize.

        I really feel for Dylan at this point. She is being attacked from so many directions, and I fear that this whole debacle will wind up pushing abuse victims even further into the shadows. So many have shared their experiences here, and the stories have been absolutely harrowing. How many others will be silenced after this misogynistic take-down?

      • OhDear says:

        The apology is confusing, but it does seem sincere at least.

        It’s like Woody’s going for a 2 for 1 special – gaslight Dylan while discrediting Mia (and Ronan).

      • mercy says:

        Thanks for that. I was really surprised to hear that coming from Stephen King. Glad he at least seems to have some realisation that he f’ed up.

      • madchen says:

        Stephen King shouldn’t have been attacked for having an opinion. He also didn’t need to apologize.

      • Tara says:

        Good. I generally like Stephen king and was appalled at his palpable douchery.

    • Latisse says:

      Barbara Walters is an as*hat for defending Woody, but Stephen King was misinterpreted. See his longer apology and explanation on Facebook:
      https://www.facebook.com/OfficialStephenKing/posts/366630433476545?stream_ref=5

      So I definitely do not think that it is fair to lump him in with, Barbara “Woody seems nice so he is incapable of molesting a child” Walters.

      • Shannon1972 says:

        Yes, Latisse, you’re right. @OhDear posted his apology upthread. I read it and commented:
        “Thanks so much for the link. I read his apology and he does seem sincere. However, that tweet really does look like he was saying there was an air of palpable bitchery in the NYTimes letter. I’m sure he was unprepared for the onslaught of responses calling him out, and his backpedaling just made it all worse. Glad he chose to apologize.”

        King is one of my favorite writers. He needs to get used to twitter, as he’s learned that the backlash can come quick and fierce. Barbara outright defended her good friend Woody based on nothing but her observations that he’s a nice guy. It was shockingly lame. There is no excuse for her that I can see.

    • paranormalgirl says:

      A family therapist who comes out trashing his sister, who alleges she was molested? I wouldn’t go anywhere near him professionally. Good thing he has his photography career to fall back on because he may have hurt his therapy career.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        I agree with you. Hope he lost a lot of clients…. Surely if someone abused by their partner or anyone else in their family need therapy, it is better they steer clear of him.

    • Decloo says:

      But Moses IS in a position to comment on Mia’s behavior at the time which was, apparently relentless and maniacal, slamming Allen all over the place. Frankly, if I discovered my child had been abused by her father, I would be keeping it away from my other children at all costs so as not to frighten them before I really knew what was going on. The fact that she was so vocal in her vitriol in front of all the children seems to me to be very telling.

      • Mrs. Darcy says:

        THIS. I do not understand how raising a group of kids with this knowledge was in any way healthy or helpful to Dylan. Even Moses, at 15, would have struggled to comprehend or process it, it’s too much too young. Maybe she sheltered them from the details until they were old enough to understand them. For all of their sakes I hope so.

        I am not saying an abuse should not be acknowledged, but I just get a really uncomfortable feeling from Dylan’s words and tone that she was not encouraged to heal from it in a nurturing way by a trained professional. It feels like she has been encouraged to re-live and recount it over and over again, to the point where she until recently still trembled at the sight of him. Regardless of what happened, to me that is not healthy or the best possible outcome of what should have happened here. A seven year old could have moved on from this given the right treatment. Forgotten, no, but if Mia was intent on raising an avenging child she should have tried to prosecute before the statute of limitations ran out.

        Now Dylan is left with no outlet, no voice – the voice she has opened to the world, despite its initial impact, will not lead to any real change. Accusing people who work with Allen as complicit, is not a voice that will give her peace or justice in the long run.

  28. lindi says:

    I don’t think it is for us to have an opinion on – but this family has thrown into the public arena which is bizarre. I think there is probably a little bit of truth in everything they have all being saying. Allen likely had blurred sexual boundaries and the little Dylan picked up on that and was always a little uncomfortable but Allen did not see himself as molesting her (though clearly there was some creep factor). In terms of him raping her that IS one the thing the examinations after the fact would have attested and they found no sign of physical penetration. I think it is quite likely that as Moses says the whole house was tense due to what was happening between Farrow and Allen – and Dylan felt that there was some talking she said she was uncomfortable and Farrow jumped on that and didn’t necessarily implant memories but spent alot of time on Dylan and the memories became embellished . We do know now that memories are highly malleable. Having myself grown up in very traumatic situations as well as all my siblings when we all were able to get out of that situation and talk about what happened to all of us I definitely know there are some things I remember because my siblings talked about them happening to them but the emotions are so close I can remember them like they were mine. Having gone through a bitter parent split I can definitely see it going down the way Moses said it did to some degree. And now since it is either you are with Allen or Farrow in order to develop a relationship with him he needs to believe in what Allen has to say, just as Dylan needs to believe in a narrative for her relationship with her mother. I do think in all of this regard Cate Blanchett said it best – the family is messed and hopefully they can come through all of this in some peace. . . And also remember just as the Daily Beast article was written by a friend of Allen so to were the Vanity Fair pieces ( both of them written by Orth) written by a friend of Farrow. All are biased.

    • Sue says:

      Dylan never said he “raped” her. She never said he “penetrated” her either. She said he “sexually assaulted” her. That definition could mean a variety of things.
      Assault does not necessarily include penetration. It does not have to be violent or painful, or leave any marks, to be deemed “sexual assault” either.

      • J.Mo says:

        It was actually digital penetration and no, there didn’t have to be any evidence of it. I look forward to reading the whole People article in print. I don’t know why I can’t look away but there are so many players in this who have been vocal in the past who haven’t spoken yet, the older Previn son who took Woody out of all the family photos and videos for instance, and the teenaged daughters of Allen and Soon-Yi. There are several other adult children in the family and it appears varying levels of lasting attachment to their parents.

      • Jag says:

        Exactly! That’s why I find it awful that they said they couldn’t see evidence of it; no penetration wouldn’t leave evidence.

      • Janel says:

        But did they erase Allen from the photos because they really think he molested her, or because they felt like he hurt the family and especially their mother with his affair? There’s a difference. And I’ve seen in multiple places that the children did a lot of things to make Mia happy. So we may be falsely equating the two by saying they removed Woody from the photos means they believe he molested their sister Dylan.

      • J.Mo says:

        Hey Janel, just to clarify, I didn’t mean to connect the others’ feelings about their childhood to whether they believe the allegations or not. I just find the whole family to be like a train wreck I can’t look away from. Usually I read celebrity gossip sites for fun but with this debate and the debates about drug addiction lately….

    • YaYa says:

      Yes and not only has the family thrown this into the public arena, they have all but demanded action from the public and the film industry in the form of an at long, last repudiation of Woody Allen. Which I completely understand from Dylan Farrow, (and have done pretty much did years ago ever since the revelation that he was involved with his girlfriend’s daughter).

      But I have no time for Mia Farrow’s attempts to shame anyone in or out of Hollywood when she stands in defense and signs petitions in support of another much-lauded director, Polanski, who drugged, raped and sodomized a little girl. In doing so, MF is part of the problem of Hollywood, just as surely as anyone else who makes exceptions or excuses for their favorite artist / child abuser.

      • NorthernGirl_20 says:

        @YaYa she never defended Polanski, and she never signed the letter supporting him. Get your facts straight.

      • YaYa says:

        Yes I was trying to reply that I stand corrected. (I commented downthread as well.) Apparently MF is not the defender/advocate of Polanski that has been suggested and reported elsewhere.

  29. B&A FN says:

    Saw this article over at TMZ today. This is a woody Allen tape from 40 years ago, they dug up.

    Woody Allen: “I’m open minded about sex. I’m not above reproach; I’m below reproach. I mean, if I get caught in a love nest with fifteen 12 year old girls tomorrow, people would think, yeah, I always knew that about him”. He added: “nothing I could come up with would surprise anyone … I admit it all”. And here is another WA quote: “it’s no accomplishment to have or raise kids. Any fool can do it.”

    • xxx says:

      I saw that too. Well clearly he had an inappropriate relationship with his now wife, I’m sure that situation went on for years before they went “public”.

      Against Woody:
      Daughter’s testimony (she absolutely believes it)
      his newly revealed disgusting comments
      he married his adoptive daughter (huge red flag)
      loss of custody of children….Is it really that easy to lose custody of your children in family court? If someone knows more about this I’m interested…

      For Woody:
      I do believe Mia Farrow could have planted the idea in the daughter’s head as I don’t think she is the most emotionally balanced woman around. How can you support Roman Polanski when your own child was sexually abused?

      As mentioned above, only 2 people know the truth (well one if you believe the “brainwashing” theory) but to me Woody is just creepy and a child molester to at least one of the children.

      • mercy says:

        Surprised a Woody apologist hasn’t swooped in yet to make the distinction that he did not adopt Soon-Yi, as if that makes starting a sexual relationship with the teenage sister of his children and daughter of his longtime companion any less inappropriate or immoral.

        She said she is not a friend or supporter of Polanski. The source for that information appears to be the Allen biographer who wote the Salon article. Mia Farrow and other reports have disputed this. To quote Tswise below, “She was subpoenaed to testify as a witness on a completely different Polanski issue.”

      • J.Mo says:

        Mia is no longer friends with Polanski. She had been subpoenaed to testify about his whereabouts in a libel case where a paper claimed he was drunkenly groping women or something. He had actually been having dinner with family friend Mia after his wife’s death.

    • OriginallyBlue says:

      So gross.

    • Tswise says:

      Good, I’m glad TMZ is not following Woody’s cult of personality.

  30. Leah says:

    I don’t know what the truth is here. All I can say whatever the truth its a terribly tragedy for those children in that family and especially Dylan. I am very disturbed by this whole story
    What i do find troublesome is some commentators absolute belief that they know the truth about a bunch of strangers . Its very dangerous for our society to judge people in this manner.
    You all should see an excellent danish movie called “The hunt” with the brilliant Mats Mikkelsen.

    • LAK says:

      Pedophilia or the suggestion of it, is the only crime where one is gulity. Always. Even if evidence is produced that proves innocence, you are forever tainted.

    • MmeRain says:

      Oh please, when did she say that she believed he was innocent? I agree with Leah, nobody except Dylan and Allen know the truth, that’s a fact. YOU don’t know what happened, I don’t know what happened, nobody except them knows what happened. You can think that his guilty, that’s your choice but don’t go and accuse people of supporting Allen merely because they’re stating facts. Just accept that some people are on the fence. (I’m in this case, I BELIEVE Dylan but there is a small part of me wondering if he’s really guilty)

  31. Sam says:

    I never get how people can say “this never happened.” Unless Moses spent every single minute with both Woody and Dylan, he can’t state with any certainty that no abuse happened. He also doesn’t account for the fact that other people other than Mia saw Woody acting in a way they felt was innappropriate with Dylan (other than the assault alleged in the attic). He relies really heavily on the “Mia coached her” angle. But does that mean that Mia also coached Ronan, her three older boys with Andre Previn (all of whom I believe side with their sister and mother), and the other kids? It’s sort of bizarre that Moses seems to be the only one who sides with Allen.

  32. Kikio says:

    Wow – what a mess. Guess Moses feels obligated to make a statement too, seeing how he’s pro Woody and all. The same can be said for him when it comes to being brainwashed – only it’s by Woody not Mia. Personally, if one of my sisters married my mom’s ex boyfriend – I wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

    • B&A FN says:

      Moses maybe saying to himself, let me support Woody, he’s the one with the money. We never know what his motivation may be for selling out his sister to his father who is also his brother in-law.

      Ronan tweeted this on FATHER’s DAY last year: “Happy Father’s Day – or as they call it in My Family, Happy Brother-in law’s Day”

  33. Devyn says:

    I still believe Dylan.

    Woody Allen is and always has been a creepy little man. Just looking at him, he looks off, and throw in his INCREDIBLY weird and shady relationship with an 18 year old (and like hell she was 18 when it began) Soon-Yi, naked photos and all, I would never trust this man with a young girl if my life depended on it.

    • sapphoandgrits says:

      And his creepy relationship with a 17-year-old high school girl when he was in his 40s, which was the basis for “Manhattan.”

  34. Shantal says:

    I’m sick of seeing this vile little troll’s ugly mug splashed all over the place.

  35. Cazzee says:

    I just wonder about all these people defending Woody Allen….would they leave their seven-year-old daughter alone with him?

    • Hiddles forever says:

      Surely NOT.

      • Cazzee says:

        Exactly. Which makes those people hypocrites, in addition to being the sort of person who defends a child abuser.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        Yeah cazzee… Surprised that there are so many people ready to defend a child molester because of his art, yet none of them would risk their children’s safety going around him.
        Easy to speak when you are not directly involved in something.
        Hypocrites, yes.

  36. Miss Jupitero says:

    There are so many things that sound odd in this.

    So; he really has no issue with his father seducing and marrying his own sister? With being his own father’s brother in law?

    I fundamentally don’t believe him, I think he identifies with the aggressor (a defense mechanism), and I think his account is irrelevant.

  37. bettyrose says:

    Funny how his defenders call Woody a genius when it comes to his work but then act like he couldn’t possibly be devious enough to conceal his perversions. Let’s face it, if he’s a genius he’s capable of fooling most people.

    • Stormsmama says:

      Great point Bettyrose.
      Wow so true

      Additionally someone above noted about Mia:
      And there is no doubt that, whatever the truth, Mia’s current crusade is DEEPLY unsound and unhelpful to all those concerned.

      So basically it’s aMESS on all fronts 🙁

  38. Lark says:

    I believe Dylan. Moses is the only one who talks and sticks up for Woody. There are 14 other kids, and some of them were around (although one has passed on). Also, he has no way of knowing whether Woody or not molested Dylan. Was he around 24/7?

  39. Nicolette says:

    There needs to be a place where pedophiles can be removed from society. Permanently. I don’t believe that they are capable of being rehabilitated. For some sick reason children are what they are attracted to, and I don’t know that anyone can be ‘cured’ from whatever sexual attraction they have. Some people are into some really out there things, but if it’s between to consenting adults and not hurting anyone that’s their business. But when children are the helpless victims to some psycho, that creature needs to be put somewhere that will keep them from performing their vile acts upon another child ever. I mean there’s nothing more stomach churning to me than when I read about someone having molested a baby. It’s evil, plain and simple. Pure evil.

    • nicegirl says:

      Nicolette, I read an article at cnn yesterday that touched on this subject. I am not sure what I think about it. It is about Alaska and the high number of reported rapes there, and also about sexual assault offenders, and a program to rehabilitate them. I could not work with perpetrators, I am not that strong, good, whatever. I think to myself, if the perpetrator I know entered a program to rehabilitate himself, admitted wrongdoing, and tried to ‘get better’, I might feel better about him . . . I don’t know. Evil is definitely the word I use to describe those crimes, and I don’t know about rehabilitation. I do not know how to put in a link but it is on the cnn website, the article is called ‘The Rapist Next Door.’

    • katy says:

      When I was taking psychology classes in college, my professors would say that some fetishes are not “curable” – pedophilia was one of them. Not sure if that’s changed since, but it’s only been about 5 years since I’ve been in college so…

      • nicegirl says:

        I am pretty sure I believe your professor on this one. Incurable.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        According to Lundy Bancroft, only a small percentage of abusers (not including rapists and paedophiles here) are able to rehabilitate.

  40. eliza says:

    Oh, now Moses is coming forward with allegations about Mia beating him. Odd there was never a mention of this during the custody battle by the children years ago and no mention of it by the many doctors and social service workers involved in the case.

    Gee, Mia must have been so busy, according to Moses, between coaching one daughter to lie about being molested, to coaching others not to reveal her evil, abusive side. I guess the maid was lying too.

    Everyone is lying but Allen. I find that odd.

    This is AWFUL all the way around and it all begins and ends with Allen.

    • Anon says:

      @eliza “My mother was conveniently out shopping”
      plus the shopping, how much time did Mia have really ?

  41. Caitlin says:

    This is what I don’t understand, if your 7 year old daughter had been sexually abused/raped by a Hollywood film director (your partner) would you support Roman Polanski when he has admitted to raping a 13 year old girl. Mia Farrow did and is still close friends with him. Given the circumstances I find this incredibly odd.

    • Tswise says:

      Everything in this comment is wrong and all it takes is 10 minutes of research to find it out.

      She was subpoenaed to testify as a witness on a completely different Polanski issue, and she isn’t friends with him.

      • Caitlin says:

        I totally think Woody Allen did molest Dylan actually FOR YOUR INFORMATION!! A source tells Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper, “Mia regards Romanas a close friend and she says she will do all she can to help him.” Not friends, really?

      • OhDear says:

        She said she wasn’t friends with him when asked about it on Twitter and she didn’t sign the petition to free him. Woody Allen signed the petition, yet he’s not being hammered about it.

        Also, Mia’s not the one saying she’s close friends, it’s a “source” that says so.

    • mercy says:

      She said she is not. Looks like another canard thrown out by Allen biographer/sycophant Weide.

    • L says:

      They aren’t friends, she testified on his behalf about a incident at Sharon Tate’s funeral. That’s it. She’s never said anything about supporting him in his child rape or that she’s his friend.

    • Evie says:

      Once again, people need to get their facts straight. It is Woody Allen who has publicly gone on the record and defended Roman Polanski’s statutory rape of the 13 year old girl. Back in 2010, Woody Allen also signed a petition for Roman Polanski’s release from house arrest in Switzerland.

      At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Allen was quoted as saying: “Polanski is an artist and is a nice person who did something wrong and he paid for it.”

      From the same CBS News Report: “Polanski pleaded guilty in 1978 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles, but fled to France before sentencing. He was a fugitive until his arrest in Switzerland last September. Polanski is under house arrest in Geneva, and U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition in the 33-year-old case.
      It was not clear whether Allen was aware of new allegations against Polanski when he made his remarks in an interview with France Info radio from the famous film festival.
      Last week, British actress Charlotte Lewis went public with claims that Polanski had sexually abused her when she was 16…”
      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/woody-allen-on-roman-polanski-let-fellow-director-go-in-child-rape-case-he-already-paid-for-it/

      I do agree that this situation is sad all the way around. I feel for Dylan. She had nothing to gain and everything to lose in terms of going public and opening herself up to scorn and disbelief.

      I do question Moses’ tactics in all of this. If he’s estranged from Mia Farrow that’s one thing but to publicly say his sister Dylan was lying when he could not possibly know where she was 24 x 7 is just absurd. Also, Mia Farrow’s late mother, the actress Maureen O’Sullivan and her sister Tisa both witnessed Woody Allen put his face in Dylan’s lap and “sniff” her vaginal area. Both were shocked and called him out on it at the time.

      Mia Farrow had four (4) biological children and adopted another 11 children. Two of her adopted children Lark and Tam are deceased. Lark died in 2008 after a lengthy illness and Tam died in 2008 of heart disease. That leaves 13 children. Of that number only two – Soon-Yi, who betrayed her and Moses – are estranged from Mia. The other 11 children — now adults and nine grandchildren presumably have a loving relationship with her. In the October, 2013 Vanity Fair article — eight of the 11 kids gave quotes to the magazine, including one of her biological sons by Andre Previn siding with Mia and against Woody Allen. Both of Mia Farrow’s ex husbands Frank Sinatra and Andre Previn sided with Mia.

      Much of Hollywood, Moses and of course, Soon-Yi and Woody’s sister side with Woody.

      The damage to this family is irreparable. But it’s worst for Dylan. It took a great deal of courage for her to speak out.

      • YaYa says:

        Thanks for this. I have had some harsh thoughts about Mia Farrow (upthread in fact) who I understood was still a supporter of Roman Polanski. Of course that has no bearing on Dylan Farrow’s ordeal and the veracity of her allegations, but that (apparent) incongruity left a pretty galling impression in MF’s railing against Hollywood for celebrating Woody Allen and ignoring the abuse allegations. Glad to find out she is not setting a lower standard for herself.

      • Mingy says:

        Thanks for the info, Evie, I’ve wondered what was the cause of death for Lark, and wasn’t aware Tam had died.

  42. mercy says:

    “Of course Woody did not molest my sister,”

    How would he know unless he was in the room with them at all times?

    “falling in love with Soon-Yi.”

    Credibility destroyed.

    “My mother never coached me,” Dylan says. “She never planted false memories in my brain. My memories are mine. I remember them. She was distraught when I told her. When I came forward with my story she was hoping against hope that I had made it up. In one of the most heartbreaking conversations I have ever had, she sat me down and asked me if I was telling the truth. She said that Dad said he didn’t do anything. and I said, ‘He’s lying.’ ”

    Only she would know. Seven is old enough to know what happened to you, and there is more reason to believe Allen lacks a moral compass than there is to not believe Dylan at all, imo.

    I do understand having questions or some doubts, and why Moses or any child would not want to believe it happened, but his willingness to make definitive statements about his sister’s experience and totally ignore Allen’s role in destroying the family by starting a sexual relationship with the teenage sister of his [Allen’s] own children tells me all I need to know about where Moses is coming from.

    • hmmm says:

      She called him “Dad”. How has everyone missed this????

      • paranormalgirl says:

        It was in context of the conversation with Mia. “She (Mom) said that Dad said he didn’t do anything.”

    • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

      That’s what I don’t understand in this whole thing. Dylan was 7. Not a 2, 3, 4 year old–I’d believe the ‘coached’/implanted memory thing on a child that young–but 7? No way! A seven year old understands things a lot better than a 2 or 3 year old. So I believe Dylan—and even if Woody hadn’t been a molester–I still think he’s a creep for getting with Soon Yi. Yeah–there’s a lot of grey area, being that she was the daughter of his girlfriend, who he never lived with, but still. He saw her grow up. And even if he didn’t–that’s beyond skeevy to get with your girlfriend’s daughter.

      What I don’t get is why Soon Yi got with him–but I guess whatever they have works. I read on here that Mia didn’t treat Soon Yi well, so maybe that’s why????

      I don’t think Woody or Mia are good parents, really. I think that Mia is a good humanitarian, does good film work—but just from what I’ve read (like her not bonding well with Moses and Soon Yi, but then adopting more children afterwards), <<<<<<<<<<<<that's what makes me think she's not a good mother. I loathe the term 'child collecting', especially when it's said because a person has more than 4, 5 kids–but I don't feel like Mia ever really put the kids first. I am glad that she didn't dismiss Dylan's story…..

      This is a difficult thing for me to think about–I think about my great grandmother, who was raped at 14, and never said who did it, because she was ashamed. Well–she absolutely HATED her brother. Her daughter, my grandma told me that, and I worry and wonder if it's because he's the one who raped her. Which is a horrible thing to live with for 84 years. And she never felt that she could tell us, while she was alive.

      • J.Mo says:

        I’m sorry to see how many personal stories have surfaced with Dylan’s statements. If only we could trust people would be taken seriously when they speak their truth. Regarding Soon-Yi staying with Woody all this time: he seems to be her only family and influence. Is she ever befriended by Scarlett, Cate? Or even Diane Keaton? I think Diane would call her lovely or sweet but I can’t imagine she would refer to her as her friend.

  43. OriginallyBlue says:

    This guy is a family therapist? This whole situation is a mess and he of all people should know that things are never simple or black and white. Unless everyone lives in one room and stay home and wake 24/7, there is no way of knowing what goes on in the home.
    Does he realize how many parents end up completely shell shocked when they find out that their spouse or close friend has been molesting their child? Predators are sneaky and manipulative, so they are able to away with the abuse for years, even under the same roof.

    • mercy says:

      Maybe he’s Allen’s in-house therapist. I’m kidding, but it wouldn’t surprise me given Allen’s demonstrated lack of boundaries.

    • hmmm says:

      Geez, what kind of therapist is he? Any therapist worth their salt knows the story of sexual abuse, the patterns, the behaviour, the dynamics, the family trauma, how the perp grooms children and manipulates and smears, etc. He sounds willfully ignorant.

      • katy says:

        He’s probably hoping his position of “family therapist” will give his opinion some weight.

  44. Suzanne says:

    Could you imagine having to get the courage to speak up about your abuser, and then repeatedly have to DEFEND it? Ugh, it just makes me sick. But good for Dylan for speaking up about something so many people struggle with.

  45. RubyGloom says:

    Ladies, read and learn. Men always know better what happened to you, what you REALLY think. If you suffering, or not. Our statement and protest, doesn’t matter, unless some dude can confirm. This is the world we living. Awesome, right?
    We have to be absolutely perfect. Mia is not, therefore is crazy, lying cu*t and her opinions are invalid. Dude can be absolutely creepy, but his opinion still matters more than ours. 🙁
    Pedo supportes should be send into space. It would solve overpopulation problem.

  46. Brou ha ha says:

    Anyone know the FN chef Giada de Laurentiis? A similar thing happened to her–abused by her own father. Very sad stuff indeed, and it happens in EVERY crevice of society.

  47. sa says:

    It’s the “of course” that gets me. It’s so patronizing and so dismissive of Dylan and what she’s feeling. If I were to buy into the Woody Allen version of events that Mia is planted this into Dylan’s head, then Dylan would still have real and painful feeling about all of this and the “of course” comment would still be cruel and insensitive towards her and what she’s going through.

    Also, very strange to me, he repeatedly referred to “her mother” and “her father” or “my mother” and “my father.” It struck me as a very strange way to talk about their parents. I think he used “our” one time, but it stood out because it was by far the exception. The way he speaks, you would think that Dylan’s mother and father are two completely different people than his mother and father. He comes off strange and extremely unempathetic and it disturbs me a that he’s a family therapist.

    • wtf says:

      I noticed the my/her mother thing too. I got a hint of that in the Vanity fair article too though. That maybe they weren’t one big happy family. But honestly who could expect them to be? First there are 14 of them! My experience with large families is that the siblings tend to group off. Maybe Moses never found his place in the family. Also, the are kids from vastly different backgrounds, and they weren’t raised together from birth so its not going to look like a typical family. Hell, my brother and I were raised from birth together and sometimes I still look at him like he’s an alien.

      As for the physical abuse by Mia – I’m going to need more information. I was scared of my mother when I was little. And I got whippings. A Lot of them. But I was also argumentative and headstrong. Things that make me a great lawyer, but made me kind of a nightmare to raise. Point being, my mom hit me, but she was by no means abusive.

      I don’t know who’s telling the truth. But I believe Dylan. What really bothers me about what Moses has said is that it discounts his sister’s very real pain. Even if you think Mia made it up,
      that doesn’t mean your sister isn’t in pain. Basically telling her to ‘get over it’ and reconnect with the man she believes abused her seems callous.

  48. J.Mo says:

    I remember being seven years old. Even if the incident did not happen in the side room/attic by Mia’s bedroom, Woody was addressing his obsession and preoccupation with the one child in therapy at the time and was not allowed to be alone with her. The therapy and restriction came about because his behaviour around Dylan was disturbing to many people and to the children. By the way, it’s not often noted that Woody disliked Ronan even as a child.

  49. OriginallyBlue says:

    This whole thing is bothering me. I was 7 when I finally told me mother that her boyfriend had been molesting me. 20 years later I can still remember vividly everything that happened to me. No amount of time or preoccupations have changed what I dealt with. I feel so bad for this woman and her 7 year old self. Being molested is devastating enough, but to have people, especially your own family calling you a liar. That must hurt so badly.

    When I was in high school 2 friends and I were talking and we had all been molested by a family member. I was the only one who told and my one friend saw the uncle who molested her, at every holiday and she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to destroy her family. That is so much burden for a young child. When I told my mom, she just believed me, took me to the doctor and then we left and went to a shelter. No questions asked. That’s how it should be.

    • Jeanette says:

      Exactly..Im 38 now, the abuse started when I was in KINDERGARTEN..and I can remember every situation I found myself in with him, all the cruel, vile things he said-the pain. I have some things blocked, like the acts themselves..but there is no way someone could have influenced what my experience was. In fact when the situation arose, I never told “per se,” but I always felt like if someone asked me a specific question..everything would have just tumbled out unfiltered.

      • nicegirl says:

        OriginallyBlue, Jeanette, I am so sorry you went through such atrocities. My heart breaks for your pain. I wish you both peace and happiness.

      • prayforthewild says:

        Yes, thank you both for sharing your stories. Mine is very, very similar, but I am not brave enough to share it, as so many have been over the last few days. It has been bittersweet to find how not alone I am. 🙁

  50. serena says:

    Dear god.. I don’t know who to believe. But seriously ” My brother is dead to me. My mother is so brave ..etc” and Mia saying ‘I love my daughter’ but ignoring her son just because he dared, it seems, to say something against her… She forgots sons and daughter as soon as they disagree with her, and push them away from the family. Maybe it was revenge, I don’t know, I wouldn’t really blame her after what went through with Soo-Yin.. Anyway this is not good. Seems like brainwash to me.

    But also, I think something sketchy went on with Woody as well.. so again, who’s telling the truth?

  51. Happy21 says:

    You know what one thing I haven’t seen in all of this?

    It’s that child molesters very rarely just molest one child and they don’t usually stop. So Woody molested Dylan and likely Soon-Yi and if all of this is true, then it is highly likely he has molested girls since then. I thinkt that is something that needs looking into. Molesters or pedophiles don’t just look at a little girl and think oh she’s pretty I’m attracted to her and will never be attracted to another little girl ever! That is BS. If Woody did indeed molest Dylan, he has done it again and he likely did it before.

    • Maureen says:

      If he has ever hurt his daughters with Soon-Yi, it’s not likely Soon-yi would have the emotional strength to turn against him. She has been under his emotional and psychological spell since she was a teenager.

      • madchen says:

        There was a documentary about Allen that was released several years ago. What stunned me most was that Soon Yi clearly runs that show.

      • Maureen says:

        REALLY? Wow. I would like to see that. I would like to see that dynamic in action.

      • Centenary says:

        Soon Yi made a very clear decision to be with Allen. In fact you have to wonder who seduced whom. Soon Yi hated her mother and said she had been made to serve as a servant in the household with all those kids. Her seduction of Woody seems to me to be an act of vengeance against her mother. Even so, they’ve had a long marriage. None of this excuses Woody’s bad judgment and boundaries with Soon Yi.

      • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

        @MAureen
        I remember that–someone on a WA thread YEARS ago said this–in that documentary, anytime Woody wanted to do something, he looked at Soon Yi to tell him what to do.

      • mercy says:

        Documentary directed by his friend who wrote the Salon article, by any chance? I don’t doubt that’s the image they want to portray.

      • J.Mo says:

        As I’ve said above, Soon-Yi has had no other family or influences since she left home except Woody. She can run the household but the real power & influence is not hers. Does she have friends like Scarlett, Cate, Diane Keaton? No, he does.

  52. someone says:

    “My brother is dead to me”. Funny the words Dylan uses are the exact same words Mia used to describe her relationship with Soon-Yi in the Vanity Fair article. Shows how much Dylan is influenced by her mother’s attitudes. The whole “dead to me” attitude invokes a certain inherent vindictiveness.

    • lnd says:

      I’d be quite vindicative if someone molested me too!

    • wtf says:

      Yeah…..I think when someone (especially your own brother) discounts a painful life altering event in your life, it’s called justifiable rage, not being vindictive.

      And I use the same phrases that my mother uses all the time. When someone else perfectly articulates how you feel, you tend to repeat it.

    • mercy says:

      http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/11/mia-farrow-frank-sinatra-ronan-farrow

      http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1992/11/farrow199211

      From what I’ve read, it was Andre Previn who said about Soon-Yi “She doesn’t exist to me.”

      Definitively dimissing his sister’s claim of abuse at the hands of Allen when he was not in the room and suggesting his mother is behind something so evil as planting memories of sexual abuse because she is a woman scorned, all while glossing over Allen’s own behaviour and praising him is something worse than vindictive, imo.

    • pleaseicu says:

      IIRC it was Andre Previn who refused to acknowledge Soon-Yi’s existence and said she was dead to him.

      Moses cut not just Mia but all of his siblings out of his life first and turned his back on them for Woody. He dismisses Dylan’s abuse by claiming he was abused by their mother. He’s deflecting attention from Woody’s actions and erroneously conflating their situations. Dylan being abused by Woody isn’t dependent on Moses being abused or not yet he states they are. They both could’ve been abused in the same family by different family members in different ways.

      I thought he went for a super low blow when he not just dismisses her pain and story by asserting he knows all and knows better than her and know there was no abuse but then goes on and basically states Dylan’s life would be better if she just got over it, cut her family off like he did, and had some Woody in her life again. Why wouldn’t Moses be dead to Dylan after that?

  53. booger says:

    So disgusting all around. I no longer have an opinion. I thought CB’s response was a cop-out but now I see it’s the only thing to say. I hope the family finds peace, especially the victims in the whole situation – Dylan, Moses, and the rest of the children.

  54. StephanieB says:

    I believe Dylan. And here’s the thing – if Woody wanted to bury the accusations once and for all, why has he never sued Mia in order to get her to shut up? I believe he’s afraid that everything will be revealed in a court of law, that’s why.

    • madchen says:

      Actually she could have sued him in civil court and it would have made much more sense. Allen Dershowitz, who’s a polarizing figure himself, was representing Mia and has admitted that he tried to negotiate a financial settlement with Allen to make the molestation charges go away. That’s messed up.

  55. londonlola says:

    Obviously, I don’t know what happened, since I wasn’t present, but my gut feeling is that Mia Farrow brainwashed her daughter Dylan Farrow to say that she was sexually abused by Woody Allen.
    This sad situation reminds me very much of the case I had dealt with a few months ago.
    (I’m a therapist for 29 years now)
    The mother confessed and her ex-husband is trying to get a new trial. The whole family suffered, I hope they can heal.
    I wish Dylan and the whole Farrow/Allen family peace.
    Mia should have taken a lie detector test, just like Woody did and passed.

    • Maureen says:

      I don’t know if you are right, and as a therapist you should know better than to compare a case that you haven’t been directly involved in and the inner workings of which you have not been privy, with a case you personally know about. You are using a personal case to make a judgment on another case involving people you’ve never met. But you made a good point about the lie detector. I wonder why Woody Allen doesn’t demand this. And why hasn’t he sued Mia and Dylan for slander if they’re lying.

      • londonlola says:

        @Maureen – I can compare it to whatever case I like to from my long professional experience. It’s my gut feeling as I stated previously, it’s something that most therapist develop over the years of dealing with patients. I do not know any of these people, neither do I treat them or treated them, but this is a gossip website and not my office or a court hearing. So I can express my opinion anyway I like. You don’t have to like it or agree with it. I truly don’t know what happened, but whatever did, I feel for all of them and I hope they can all find some peace. Mia should express love for her son Moses not just her daughter Dylan even though he might not be recalling his childhood as Mia remembers it. We love our children doesn’t matter what. Often we have different memories of our childhood compared to our siblings. Moses might not have experienced what Dylan did and he most likely didn’t see what Dylan did. It’s something to consider. The words : my brother is dead to me are highly concerning to me. Seems like a very troubled family.

      • madchen says:

        There are tons of people on this board who are using there personal and professional opinions to backup their feelings about the case. Why should a therapist be any different? There have been several posters maligning Moses because he’s a therapist.

      • mercy says:

        @machen,

        Not just because he’s a therapist, but because of his dismissive attitude towards Dylan’s claim when he was not in a position to know what happened to her. Not very professinal of him, to say the least.

      • vangroovey says:

        Just a little about defamation law in the U.S. Bluntly put: It is HARD to win a defamation case in the U.S. Even harder for celebrities, because U.S. law actually has different rules for when the plaintiff is a public figure. Public figures have to prove “actual malice” — not just negligence — when bringing a libel or slander suit. To summarize (and there is more too it), when a plaintiff has to prove actual malice, they have to have a smoking gun PROVING that the person is lying. Evidence. Since this case is ALL “he-said, she-said” and since it happened 20 years ago, it would be impossible to get said evidence now. Even if he is not guilty, there is no way he could provide the type of evidence needed for a public figure defamation case now.

    • paranormalgirl says:

      As a therapist, you should know the difficulty and time it takes to plant a false memory in a child over the age of 6. Eventually the memory will break. Kids of that age are so strong willed that they often will reject any attempt to accept a lie as the truth, much less hang on to it for 21 years. You would also know that the incidents of false accusations are less than 10% and eventually in that 10% the truth will come out before 21 years or so go by.

      As for a lie detector… they are actually easy to beat and not admissible in a court of law because they are so easy manipulated. And Woody’s was administered by his own legal team. Completely inadmissible. Woody hasn’t sued because then there WILL be a trial and now Dylan is not a scared 7 year old. She can handle cross examination now.

      Oh, and I am going on knowledge gleaned through 12 years of schooling, including internship and residency, and nearly 10 active years as a psychiatrist.

      • londonlola says:

        @paranormalgirl – I have over 29 years of experience in this field, I often testify at court and have written 4 books on the subject of sexual abuse of children by family members and friends. I worked with many children that were abused from very young to adults. A lot depends on the influence of the parent, the personality of the child and different dynamics in the family. I had few months ago a very similar case, minus the fame factor, a very wealthy family in London. The mother confessed and her ex-husband has requested a new trial. Their daughter has also confessed to the authorities after 22 years of lying about her father, because of the very powerful influence of her mother. She was only 5 years old. I don’t know either Mia or Woody, not Dylan or Moses, nor do I treat them or treated them. I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what happened, but anything is possible. Woody could have molested Dylan or Dylan could have been coached by her mother Mia to accuse Woody. One thing I know for sure, life is sometimes stranger than fiction. I only had two cases so far in my practice, but yes it can and it does happen. False accusations do happen.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        False accusations happen, yes, I am well aware of that. I happen to believe Dylan because her account rings true. Her account is not full of the minute details that send up red flags.

        I would be interested in reading your books.

      • Vennie says:

        @londonlola- So you have had 2 cases of implanted memories of assault in 29 years and 4 books of experience and those odds give you the impression that Dylan is lying?
        Wow.
        So two cases of false memories completely trumps all of the other cases where it was true assault. This defies all logic.

    • Evie says:

      +1. Many people routinely beat lie detector tests and yes, Woody Allen’s paid legal team administered the tests.

      The Connecticut DA made the decision at the time not to prosecute because it would be too traumatic for the then seven year old Dylan, who was deemed too fragile. The 28 year old Dylan has found her voice. Woody, his legal team and his defenders have chosen to attack Mia Farrow and blame her for manipulating or implanting Dylan’s memories. Now that Dylan herself is speaking out, this strategy will prove less successful since their only option is to smear or disbelieve the victim. We all know that Ronan Farrow has been and will most likely continue to vocalize his disapproval of Woody Allen. BTW, the Vanity Fair article from 1992 also alleges that Woody and Ronan (then called Satchel) never got along and that in fact, Woody would yell at him, pinch him and twist his leg! Fletcher Previn was quoted in the 2013 Vanity Fair article as saying that they went through all the family photo albums and Woody’s face out of all the pictures.

      At this point it would be best if the family kept this private but that’s not going to happen. Mia is certainly not perfect. At the very least, it would be wise of Mia to refrain from publicly castigating Woody on social media. Her remark to Vanity Fair that Frank Sinatra could possibly be Ronan’s father was a nasty, low blow that put her son in a very awkward position and was an insult to Sinatra’s widow Barbara. In her youth she was a wild flower child who did have an affair with a married Andre Previn, causing great distress to his then wife Dory Previn who penned a song “Beware of Young Girls” about it and did attempt suicide. I can understand Mia’s feeling betrayed and even vengeful by Woody and Soon-Yi’s affair. Hopefully, she will get therapy. But if she truly believes (and it appears she does) that Woody molested Dylan, she’s not going to be quiet about it.

      When all is said and done Dylan’s statements are the ones that are the most damaging and damning to Woody and they deserve to be investigated. Cate Blanchett was spot on in her statement: it’s a very painful family situation and they all need help to heal.

    • pleaseicu says:

      How do you explain the physical evidence that supports Dylan’s claims of sexual abuse and that completely contradicts Woody’s original absolute position he wouldn’t know how to get to Mia’s attic let alone go in there, he had never ever been in that attic, to changing his story when confronted by police to, well, maybe I was there?

    • Cazzee says:

      Your simple faith in lie detector tests (which are notoriously easy to manipulate, have a false negative rate of 15% and therefore are not admissible as evidence in court) throws the credibility of your entire comment in doubt.

  56. Jeanette says:

    Explain this Woody Allen supporters:

    Farrow found out about the affair (with Soon-Yi) when Allen left pornographic photographs of Soon-Yi on his mantel in January 1992.

    8 months before Dylans account in 1993, Woody was in therapy for his “inappropriate behavior” with Dylan before the revelation of the affair.

    The disproving that WA mentions in his answer to the article says that “it was proven that he never molested her” WHERE? Everything I have read says that they believed he did it but didnt press charges in the interest of Dylan’s state of mind. In fact the first examination of her was later brought to task, and the judge believed they never even interviewed the child. The person that was to speak for the facility in charge of the exam, John Leventhal, declined to testify as to their findings. (Because they botched it!)

    And then finally..there is this,

    And in their May 1994 decision, the judges of the New York appellate court held that, with regard to the events of Aug. 4, 1992, “the testimony given at trial by the individuals caring for the children that day, the videotape of Dylan made by Ms. Farrow the following day and the accounts of Dylan’s behavior toward Mr. Allen both before and after the alleged instance of abuse, suggest that the abuse did occur.

    • mikeal says:

      Exactly, while I don’t know what happen, It is hard for me to buy Woody’s team argument that the allegations are those of a vindictive woman when there is evidence that the family was dealing with Woody’s behaviour towards Dylan before the affair between Woody and Soon-Yi became known to Mia.

  57. MyLittlePony says:

    What a mess! And everyone taking sides very strongly, and wishing the other being dead in that family… Simply horrible in all aspects. However, , I admire Mia Farrow as an actress and a humanitarian, she truly is wonderful, but after seeing her in a very good documentary about Andre Previn a few years ago, I can easily believe she is very manipulative and dominating. I would not want to be on her wrong side either.

    • Maureen says:

      Did she talk shit about Andre, too? Mia talks shit about all her men — except Sinatra, whom she has the advantage of treating as a sort of legend and fantasy since he’s been long gone.

      • MyLittlePony says:

        No, I cannot say she did. As far as I recall, they discussed their marriage and children in a general kind of way, and I think one with a grandchild (a baby) was present, too. Mia just came accross as a very unpleasant person interrupting others and strongly pushing her ideas and views to the foreground etc. and all in all being very pushy.

      • Maureen says:

        Okay. Maybe she just has a strong personality. It could be her naturally and it could be a side effect of raising a ton of children. People who raise lots of kids can seem bossy without meaning to because BEING a boss (to manage, raise, guide so many children) has become ingrained in who they are. I don’t know. *shrugs*

  58. Maureen says:

    Oh boy. I pity the families Moses is treating.

    All in all I just think this is a very, very, very screwed up family. I don’t think Mia Farrow smells like roses either. I think they are all a mess — but clearly some are worse than others.

    • Snappyfish says:

      That was my concern. What kind of Dr makes such comments about someone else’s abuse. He is recently in WA’s camp & I’m guessing access to cash was a prerequisite

      • Maureen says:

        That was my thought EXACTLY. As a trained professional he’s the last one who should be publicly calling some out as a liar when he doesn’t know. He just doesn’t know! No one really knows, to be honest, except Dylan and Woody Allen.

    • Cazzee says:

      I know! I had the same thought. What a messed up, immature, judgemental person to be working as a therapist.

      It’s no secret in the mental health field that many if not most of the people working as therapists and psychiatrists entered the field to either heal themselves or someone they loved….I just wish that the healing part had worked with this Moses guy.

  59. Irishserra says:

    Two incredibly selfish and screwed up people got together and despite their incredibly dysfunctional relationship, brought more human lives into the dysfunction; some through birth, others through adoption. Now all of the children are suffering the consequences of this clusterf**k; only some are so f**ked up they don’t even realize it, as this sick garbage has been their normal for decades and incredibly, there are surrounded by people who continue to defend, justify and endorse the kind of behavior that most in our society perceive inappropriate and would fight to the death to protect our children from when possible.

    • jojo says:

      Is this true or is society actually just as effed up as them – with slightly less molestation on average?

      • Irishserra says:

        Oh no doubt society is very screwed up and becoming more and more so. But it would surprise me if the overwhelming majority actually supported the idea of a man known for being inappropriate with children to marry a very young woman to whom he was a father figure.

  60. bailie says:

    I don’t know what happened in that family, but I really don’t understand the dynamic they have.
    Dylan Farrow going after people that Woody worked with on his films in her open letter seems almost like some sick and weird famewhoring, using famous names of Cate Blanchet and Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson and so on.
    It’s like I would be somehow responsible for my coworker beating his wife at home.
    How could I possibly know, if it’s the truth or is it just a tool being used by the wife against her say, cheating husband???
    Only Woody Allen is resposible for his actions nobody else.
    Also, Dylan uses Mia’s words : my brother is dead to me and why is Mia not saying I love my son Moses even though he is incorrect.
    How did Mia raised these kids, what in the world is going on in their family besides Dylan’s abuse allegations against Woody.

    • Gail says:

      Most of us don’t have a choice of who sits in the cubicle next to us. But in this case, these actors, all A-listers had a choice. They were not newcomers desperate for work and they could afford not to work with Woody Allen. They all made a choice to work with this man. Can’t you see why Dylan would call them out? And calling a child abuse victim ( true or false, she believes it) a famewhore is shameful.
      As for Dylan’s words for Moses – read his words for her. He obviously doesn’t care for her. Why should she?

      • bailie says:

        I can’t understand why Dylan has called out Cate Blanchet and other actors in her open letter.
        Why are they being pulled into a private messy business of the Farrow/Allen family?
        They don’t know what the truth is, what really happened, if Dylan was molested by Woody or not. They were not there and some of them have probably never even met either Dylan, Mia, Moses or other people in this messy business.
        It’s just seems wrong to me, actors have a right to work with whom ever they wish, unless Woody is charged and convicted of the crime of sexual abuse of Dylan, he is after all an innocent man.

      • Gail says:

        @bailie: I think maybe it has something to do with how Cate has talked about in interviews about how she is very choosy about her directors and how she read up and researched and watched documentaries about Woody Allen before choosing to work with him. So no, Cate and her colleagues aren’t as ignorant as some might think. And the charges made headlines back in 1992. They know, they just don’t care.
        So when all these people come out and praise what a wonderful man Woody is, what wonderful roles he writes for women, how well he understands women, can’t you understand how that might hurt Dylan?

    • Evi says:

      All the actors in his current films are aware of Allen’s past. How can one not be? The reason Dylan called them out? It’s quite obvious isn’t it? She is highlighting their superficiality. Yes, even Cate Blanchett’s superficiality. But more so, she is highlighting what is wrong with the American film industry.
      Someone like Mel Gibson can be blackballed for something he said when drunk and yet Woody Allen is celebrated even though he is a goddamn pervert that no one in their right mind would allow to babysit their kids. That summarises Hollywood for you. Misplaced priorities. We are talking about an industry that exploits children and exposes them to potential molestors as well, let’s not forget: e.g. Corey Haim and Feldman’s experiences and how they ended up, among others.
      Look at Roman Polanksi as well….another one who didn’t think twice about sleeping/raping a 13 year old girl.
      So Dylan’s tactic is to call out Hollywood on its dement and contradictory views.

      • nycgirl says:

        Aren’t you forgetting something, Evi?
        Woody Allen has not been CONVICTED of any crime.
        So, why should actors avoid working with Woody?
        Dylan has accused him of molestation, but Woody has not been charged or convicted.
        Nobody knows what happened, except Woody and Dylan, everything else is speculation.
        Woody is innocent until proven guilty.
        I wish he would stop making his stupid films.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        @nycgirl,

        Since now is the time when an adult Dylan spoke up in no uncertain terms against her abuser Woody Allen, the public is rightfully incensed that another child molester is doing a full court press against his victim.

        His using everything he can throw in the war he’s waging against Dylan and her her mother seems to be backfiring on him. As an actor, I’d want to back out of a Woody Allen project because I wouldn’t want to be caught up in the backlash against Woody.

        There’s been some blind gossip rumblings that Zach Braff is looking for a way to quietly exit his reteaming with Woody Allen in his upcoming musical ‘Bullets over Broadway”.

  61. Justice says:

    Dylan account is consistent. Moses is not. From what I read, he was 15 at the time and chose not to see WA. Why? . 15 is not young. Why was he not speaking against
    his mother then?. Why accusing her of many things now?. What has happened that makes her evil in his eyes. Remember the Austrian father who imprisoned his own daughter for his own pleasure. His wife and his other children had no ideas? . Or the mother chose not to believe her child . She chose the easy way out.

  62. katy says:

    Anybody catch the part where Moses said Dylan would benefit from reconnecting with Woody? I would be all sorts of offended at that.

  63. samantha says:

    This is all so very strange to me. Why did Dylan write this open letter after Woody was celebrated at the Golden Globes and is Oscar nominated for his latest film Blue Jasmine? And, why in the world is she dragging famous people like Diane Keaton, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin and Scarlett Johanson into their families private mess? What do they have to do with any of this? Woody Allen was not charged or convicted of any crime. Why shouldn’t they work with him, if they wish so? Mia should explain the letter she wrote to defend Polanski after he admitted to sexually assalting a young girl.
    Mia sounds like a hypocrite.

    • mercy says:

      Maybe she finally felt strong enough to address the situation publicly and was tired of him being given a pass because he’s a wealthy, famous, talented, powerful man. It’s awards season and there are lots of celebrations and PR campaigns heaping praise on a man who, to her, is an abuser who caused harm to her and her family and has never been held fully accountable for it by the legal system, society, or the industry he’s in. There have even been some attempts at revisionist history along the way, like the Salon article written by an Allen friend.

      Only Woody Allen is responsible for his actions, but there’s nothing wrong with his sending a potent reminder of those actions to the people who choose to work with him and show support for him (and in many cases these aren’t folks who are desperate for a paycheck, like the actors she named.)

    • katy says:

      Dylan was replying to the Weide article, which was written at least a week (I believe) before her open letter.

  64. someone says:

    I find it interesting that we are supposed to unquestioningly believe what Dylan says about her father but when Moses says his mother was cold and intimidating we are NOT supposed to believe him. If Moses says he was psychologically (and perhaps physically) abused by his Mother that was HIS experience and who are we to say it didn’t happen. A victim is a victim, no matter the type of abuse.

    • Mingy says:

      ITA.

    • Irishserra says:

      I don’t think anyone has disputed that. I believe that Mia is a psychotic wreck whose selfish whims caused much pain and suffering for her children.

      I also believe that Woody was just as horrid, although in a different way. Per my post above, it was essentially a match made in hell.

      However, this does not negate or lessen the pain that Dylan is suffering due to the sexual abuse at the hands of her father. The issue was never whether or not Mia deserved to be labeled “Mother of the Century.” I think we would unanimously agree that she most certainly was not.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        Exactly. I would not be voting for Mia Farrow as mother of the year either. I think she was selfish and manipulative and hid it behind a facade of waifish innocence.

  65. The Original G says:

    Seriously. What a mess.

    Something terrible went on in this family. I’m not comfortable saying that Moses isn’t some sort of victim as well. I do not wish to silence anyone in this or similar situation, but this media storm is adding a layer of murk on an already difficult situation.

    I just wish all these people find healing and justice. That’s all.

  66. Marianne says:

    Perhaps both stories are right. Maybe Woody really sexually assaulted Dylan and maybe Mia was emotionally abusive too. If his mom was always mean around him, and he never saw the way Woody treated Dylan, I think it would make sense that he would side with Woody. Maybe Dylan never got that wrath from Mia (or just couldnt compare to what Woody did) and therefore she sides with Mia.

    I don’t think any of us will really true know what went on.

  67. lola lulu says:

    its really uncomfortable how public this is becoming. i appreciated dylan’s initial article if that helped in her healing process. but family members shouldn’t be essentially “confronting” each other or drawing lines in the sand in the media. it reminds me of another detail that was revealed the other day about Dylan sobbing hysterically on the bed when she heard about Allen’s nomination….that’s so painfully personal. I kind of hope the coverage dies down a little…I cant see how this type of mud slinging will help anyone in the long run.

  68. mommaof2 says:

    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see all these comments about Mia, and doubting Dylan’s story. It’s easy for anyone to think these things unless they have personally experienced these kinds of predators, or had them in their family. These kind of predators tear families apart left and right, and deeply affect everyone, even distant relatives, even when they themselves have not been harmed. I’m speaking from experience. From experience I will also say that the wife or spouse of an abuser is almost always mentally unwell (in my opinion). This is typically why they chose to be with the abuser to begin with, even if they didn’t know beforehand, or they become mentally unwell after all the years of abuse. In fact , Mia possibly came from a family of abuse herself looking at her brother who was just sentenced. 1 in 4 girls will suffer sexual abuse from a family member or friend. There’s a pattern to all of this, and frankly that’s why Mia was probably was in denial for many many years as was my grandmother. However, the difference between Mia and my grandmother is that she chose to acknowledge the wrongs, and finally defend and protect her daughter. She is brave, as you can see she is being attacked. However, this is better than not doing so though, because then the entire family would hate her for denying it, and not being there for her daughter. My grandmother is still with her husband, the one who raped my 2 aunts for many years. One of my aunts still has a relationship with her Dad even after all that, and the other one doesn’t. The other does of course takes issue that her mother never left her father, even after finding out. My father for sure did not know about it till many years after he moved out, even though it was small house. Of course he himself survived much physical abuse in other ways. What I’m trying to say, It doesn’t matter if Mia was or still is crazy, mentally ill, whatever you name it. Dylan is telling the truth, you can hear it from her. What does she have to gain from exposing all this? nothing. She is trying to regain her strength, and show the world what a monster Woody Allen is, and continues to be. Also, for everyone who says “ick” to Woody Allen dating, wooing, and marrying Soon-Yi, you must not have children. Ick does not begin to describe what he did. Perhaps this hits too close to home for me, but anyone who has had real life experience with this would not use the word ‘Ick’. They would also not doubt Dylan for a moment. People, these kind of things ruin, families, and continue to hurt for generations down.

    • Hiddles forever says:

      Kudos to your post! I hope you could find a bit of peace in the following years 🙂

    • Tara says:

      You are spot on, mommaof2. Thanks for your story and good sense. Strength and happiness to you.

  69. kosmea says:

    None of us know what really happened.
    Is it possible that Woody molested Dylan? Absolutely possible. Is it possible that Mia brainwashed Dylan into believing that she was molested by Woody? Absolutely possible.
    Neither Woody or Mia seem like decent people to me. Woody seems like a creepy guy. Mia is often talked about as a very pushy, vindictive and mean spirited woman, hoarding children like accessories.
    I have no idea what to believe, after reading Empty Mansions, I believe that anything is possible and life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
    I wish their whole family the best, I can’t even comprehend the pain of abuse at such a young age. Horrible.

  70. Meg says:

    i just don’t understand how anyone can say ‘there’s no way he/she was abused’
    unless you were attached to that person and therefor with them every moment of every day of their life, you cannot say without a doubt that they were or were not abused.
    it’s so incredibly insulting and belittling to disagree with someone else’s experience. you weren’t there, you have no idea what happened. it sounds more like denial, i have to tell myself my mom/dad or whoever didn’t abuse you because the possibility of that being true is too much to swallow. refusing to allow the possibility is your problem.

  71. msw says:

    Wow. Whatever happened/is happening, it’s too awful for words. Molestation of a young child who was entrusted in your care, or a mother whose desire for revenge or a lack of self-awareness guided someone to implant a false memory–either situation is terrible. Not to mention the rest of the family falling apart. There are no winners here.

    • KB says:

      Yeah, I’m not sure who is guilty or who’s innocent, I just know that one of them is an absolute monster.

  72. madchen says:

    I really want to know to what end this will reach. What will it all change? How will it help so much as one other abused child. I live in Los Angeles and the Dept. of Children’s Services is going through yet another tumultuous period. What sparked the most recent unrest is the murder of an 8-year-old boy by his mother and her boyfriend. This child was so visibly abused, physically, sexually and emotionally, that his teachers and non-custodial family members repeatedly called DCFS. Nothing was done. Another investigation this year revealed at least 14 more deaths due to lack of oversight on the part of the system. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the rest of the country. These children have no friend in Nicholas Kristoff who, considering the remarkable international reach of the NY Times, could have framed Dylan’s letter around the much larger issue. The Farrows have the bully pulpit right now but they are using it for a personal vendetta – considering the greater situation and their particular command of the media, that kind of disgusts me.

    • KB says:

      Agreed. I have a family member that was abused by his father and it took years to wrestle away his visitation rights. They were supervised visits, but it was appalling, given what he had done, that he was ever able to see his son again. He hired one of those men’s rights attorneys and fought like hell for custody.

      In my opinion, Dylan is quite immature for her age. The accusatory tone of her letter and saying “my brother is dead to me,” for example. Victims of abuse can be kind of stunted at that age, but the people around her shouldn’t be. Mia, especially, given her activism, should be bringing the issue to light instead of trade barbs with her 26 year old son on Twitter.

      • Sarah says:

        @madchen and @KB : Why are you trying to muddy the waters? And why exactly is it upto Dylan or Mia (who has done more than most to help others) to do something? You could do something. I could do something. And we all should instead of trying to divert the attention from a child abuser because you like his movies.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        Exactly right, Sarah. I’m glad to see you’re wearing your Bullshit Goggles when reading machden’s rhetoric.

      • KB says:

        @Sarah First of all, I don’t like his movies and I don’t like him. Second of all, Mia has got the attention of the entire world. You and I do not. Third of all, I’m not trying to divert from the issue at hand, I just think the issue at hand provides an opportunity to bring to light the struggles victims face after reporting a sexual assault. The monster that preyed on my cousin -his own father- was never prosecuted. I suppose I just want the discussion to be larger than this incident because there was no justice for my family.

      • madchen says:

        I’d like to thank @Sloane and @Sarah for coming out with the predictable ‘hang the witch’ replies to my comment. You don’t know what happened in CT nearly 20 years ago any more than I do.

        I’m not much of a Woody Allen fan either and I’ve never defended him – just challenged the narrative. I’m enough of a critical thinker to understand that the issue at large is considerably more complex than it’s presented. This entire story will dissipate once the Academy Awards are over and Ronan’s show gets its footing. The Farrows have an agenda and it’s highly focused. I stand by my critique of Kristoff as well.

      • mercy says:

        @machen/madchen,

        You don’t know if their “agenda” involves anything more than supporting their sister and daughter,

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        “@machen/madchen,

        You don’t know if their “agenda” involves anything more than supporting their sister and daughter,” …. than showing other victims how to confront their abusers, and sharing with the world this is How to Heal from Child Sexual Abuse.

        http://www.theadvocacycenter.org/adv_abuseheal.html

        (I hope you don’t mind that I finished your terrifically concise post, mercy.)

    • mercy says:

      I’ve read many articles on social services and the foster care system in both the NY Times and L.A. Times, and Kristoff is responsible for numerous important investigative articles throughout his career. They don’t get the same kind of attention by the media or general public because there are no celebrities involved, period. We can’t blame Kristoff for this, or deny any victim the right to tell their story, even if they are relatively privileged and well connected and their story is not the most horrible or socially significant to come down the pike. Allen has used his power, money, and connections to bury his past. It’s only fair that his victim be allowed to use what resources she has to remind us. What good will come out of it on a larger scale? Perhaps a reminder that it can happen to anyone, regardless of social standing? A message to victims that they are not alone and they have a right to speak up? A renewed interest in the the problem that might lead to more attention for the kind of tragic cases you mentioned? One can only hope…

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        Too right, Mercy.

        madchen, and posters like her/him, remind me of nothing so much as the rabid Scientologist posters furiously typing out nonsensical questions and repeating the same stale partly lines in a futile effort to distract us from ugly truths.

        “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” Indeed.

  73. Jalouse says:

    Her brother’s conviction casts another light on Farrow. Transference?

  74. Alexa says:

    Maybe someone more articulate will help me here (because I’m not trying to put this whole Farrow/Allen tragedy in the same category as “good thing”) – but – if you can understand where I’m trying to go with this: I’m heartened by all of the voices of outrage over sexual abuse and domestic abuse and all the support shown to victims of such.

    I’m beginning to feel creepy about pondering the particular details of this case in particular (I’m not being called upon for jury duty) – but that this tragic topic is being discussed and is showing so much support for victims, really, REALLY ENCOURAGES ME that we are heading in the right direction as a society.

    I remember reading several years ago some percentage that seemed preposterous to me – like 1 in 4 women will be sexually abused before the age of 18 – or something like that – and maybe even that it was molestation by a family member or close adult friend of the family. And instead of women it may have just been children. But anyway – IT’S HUGE! IT’S SOUNDED ALMOST LIKE THE DIVORCE RATE OR SOMETHING! Does anyone else remember learning about such high statistics of this?

    Thanks to all contributors for your bravery.

  75. joan says:

    What did Moses, the wise, all-seeing family therapist have to say about Woody sticking his thumb in Dylan’s mouth and having her suck on it?

    Does he recommend that TOOL for his family therapy?

    • madchen says:

      Nasty and unnecessary comment. None of us knows him or anyone else in this family. We can only assume that he has deeply personal reasons for making his statements public.

      • sapphoandgrits says:

        Joan is right. Moses has moral and legal ethics he has to follow as a therapist. The other poster’s question is legitimate.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        madchen, you have absolutely no room to talk.

        The truth is that Woody Allen is a viciously smug abuser who reveled in fondling Dylan every freakin’ chance he got. Go ahead, slip us some more of your song and dance about Dylan doesn’t know exactly what Woody did to her, or, I KNOW, dazzle us with some more of your well worn fallacies.

        Joan, FTW.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        ITA, sapphoandgrits!

      • madchen says:

        What fallacies? He must have personal reasons for coming forward and vilifying him for doing so makes no sense. The posters who have noted that both Dylan and Moses may be telling the truth make the most sense to me. Sloane W. why the attack? What’s the matter with you?

      • mercy says:

        @machen,

        Moses is simply not in a position to say what happened to his sister at the hands of Woody Allen. He doesn’t have to believe it, but he doesn’t know for sure. At the same time as he is dismissive towards Dylan, he chooses to ignore Allen’s bad behaviour. That’s what I see most people responding to.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        Madchen, In Post #72 above, and here in this thread, I merely deconstruct your fallacious and specious arguments. It’s not my fault you reply by pretending you have no idea what I’m talking about, ‘What’s this? Fallacies, you say? What fallacies?’

        The fact you’ve commented at least thirty times throughout this post alone, added to the fact I’ve never seen your username here at Celebitchy before Dylan and her family stood up against Woody Allen’s child abuse, well, let’s just say I wonder about you.

        Something’s rotten in Denmark, and it ain’t the fish.

    • Tara says:

      Well said Joan, Sloane and Sappho.

  76. reba says:

    To Nicegirl and to all others with these terrible stories of abuse, I encourage you to look up the closest FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS practitioner as soon as you can.

    Family constellations is about movements of the soul towards the truth, it is about love and healing. You can help yourself, your family (doesn’t mean you ever have to see them again) and society as a whole. The effects of family constellations are really far-reaching. The experience is eye-opening on a level you cannot imagine. Please try it.

  77. paranormalgirl says:

    never mind.

    • Hiddles forever says:

      It seems that the NY times will give the chance to WA to reply to Dylan’s letter.

      I am keen to see what he will come up with. Creep.

      • KB says:

        I’m sure it won’t be much different than the “scorned lover” narrative he’s been pushing for years.

  78. frivolity says:

    Dysfunction all around!

    I tend to think that Woody Allen is probably an abuser and that Dylan’s story is true. There is no doubt that Mia has many issues as well. No matter how altruistic your are, raising and/or adopting 14 children is not normal behavior in a modern, industrial society ,where children no longer die of infectious diseases nor are reared to assist the family with the hard labor needed for subsistence, as was the case in pre-industrial days.

    It is not surprising that Moses is a therapist. It is very common for people who grow up with dysfunction to enter the field of psychology or therapy themselves. It is appalling that he is apparently such an incompetent therapist so as to dismiss his sister’s claims and deny the typical manipulative pattern of abusers that his father demonstrates. But, this is not surprising. Psychologists and therapists are just people who can be influenced, biased, and plain stupid – and many are.

    What I find curious in all of this is why all of these people want to air all of their family’s “dirty laundry” in public. But then I really do not comprehend this facebook/twitter age of no privacy, nor do I comprehend being a celebrity. I can imagine that all of the recent praise that Woody is getting for Blue Jasmine and his Golden Globe lifetime achievement award must be SO painful to someone who has suffered at his hand, so expressing that pain and suffering in public does seem normal in that sense. If what Dylan says is true, I know I would be furious to see everyone spewing accolades at my abuser if I were her.

    Finally, what I do not get the most is why everyone thinks Woody is such a great writer/director/actor! Is it one of those things where you just have to say you like his stuff because that is the thing to do in order to be cool/to be like everyone else?? I’ve only seen a handful of his films – mostly his old ones because I boycotted his stuff after the Soon-Yi incident and only this year decided to watch Blue Jasmine. Completely overrated drivel, in my opinion ….

    • sam says:

      Interesting opinion, I loved Blue Jasmine.
      Cate Blanchet was amazing, I hope she gets the Oscar. Seems like a very classy and talented woman.
      I will boycott Woody’s films after he is convicted, these are only accusations at this point.
      I wish Dylan well.

  79. sapphoandgrits says:

    I had a family therapist sleep with my SO during the time we went to couple’s therapy together.

    Dr. Phil was a family therapist who sexually and financially used patients, which is why he isn’t allowed to practice anywhere.

    My point is just that someone being a therapist doesn’t mean anything. It’s also very unethical for him to be using his profession to state what he’s stating.

  80. pantheon says:

    What a mess!
    Why are these people going after each other in the media?
    Does dirty laundry have to be aired in the public domain?
    Have they not heard of police, the court system, the civil court, therapist, doctors, and other professionals?
    Dylan could sue Woody in civil court, keep the money and use it for her therapy or donate the money to organization that helps kids and or adults who are victims of abuse.
    What is the point of this back and forth in front of the public?
    And why is Dylan calling out actors that worked with Woody in fims?
    They don’t know what happened, they have no way of knowing if the abuse claims by Dylan are true or not?
    How could possibly Cate Blanchet know what Woody did or didn’t do 20 or so years ago?
    I don’t know, if Dylans claims are true or not, but Woody has not been convicted of any crime, so, if the rageholic Alec Baldwin wants to work with Woody it’s his business and not Dylan’s.
    It’s such a sad situation.

    • Evi says:

      They have heard about the system, but the system didn’t work for them because prosecutors decided not to prosecute, based on flimsy BS reasons such as Dylan Farrow’s ‘fragility’ and the ‘experts’ deciding that they couldn’t figure out if she fantasised the abuse. But from other sources I’ve read, the prosecution did have enough to go to court, but decided not to for whatever reasons.
      Now most families who feel betrayed by the system that is supposed to take action, usually use the media. Why should the Farrows be any different? Just because they are known and wealthy?

  81. Lilacflowers says:

    I fail to see how any of what has transpired in the past week could possibly be helpful to Dylan Farrow or what anyone could possibly gain from putting this out for public discussion again.

    • Evi says:

      It certainly has wider reaching ramifications, perhaps so wide that even the Farrows don’t realise it.
      When my partner watched all this on TV he flew into a rage and ranted: “Can’t people read between the lines within his [Allen] films and what he writes and how seedy/sick it is?” He was referring to Allen’s earlier films. Allen is kind of going a bit mainstream now for the awards.
      But what drove my partner to that point were the allegations that Dylan fantasised about the abuse she experienced and his own experience with therapists who said the same thing [like the supposedly independent ‘experts’ paid to respond to Farrow’s case] to him when a relative would physically abuse him: you fantasised it. Basically being treated like you somehow created the entire abuse [via fantasy as well].
      I can’t imagine this being a wonderful time for Dylan Farrow, but sometimes things reach a head. I think all the publicity about Blue Jasmine and the Oscar talk precipitated the response. His previous films were all failures in the Oscar sense, not garnering any significant attention. But Blue Jasmine – because of Cate Blanchett as well – has been publicised relentlessly and maybe it all got a bit too much for Mia and her family: the fact that Allen can be so celebrated, despite his sordidness.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        @Lilacflowers,

        Dylan has had enough of her father’s accolades. The last straw was Woody winning The Golden Globes’ a Lifetime Achievement Award.

        Not only has Dylan privately suffered, she been forgotten all this time, and she couldn’t stand watching him getting away Scot free any longer. She wrote in her open letter how she’s terrified that she’s responsible for other little girls fearing to come forward because she wasn’t able to all those years ago.

        Dylan wants her life to have meaning. She wants her story to empower adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She wants to bring child abusers out of hiding and stop them from repeating the cycle all over again with other child victims.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Being debated one way or the other across the news media and gossip sites is not healthy for anyone and, as for empowering other victims, seeing the backlash aimed at Dylan Farrow is not likely to encourage other victims to speak up. Midnight in Paris was nominated for multiple Oscars and garnered significant attention. And if anger is to be directed at anyone by the Farrows, it should be directed at Allen, not at others.

    • Ravensdaughter says:

      I agree.
      How awful to “come forward”. I don’t fault Dylan at all; in fact, it’s almost like she has fallen on her sword for the benefit of others. The timing does seem odd.
      She is an adult, and I am sure she has been in therapy for a very long time, trying to work this out in a safe-confidential!-environment. Although her story was revealed years ago in the court system during a nasty custody battle, time has passed and the red hot light of the Hollywood press then moved on to another sensational story.
      Until now. Because she has personally gone public, she has effectively given up her privacy. Now many tongues feel free to wag. Woody’s PR machine has spoken, and her own brother-acting as an “authority figure”-has sold her out.
      Aside-I hope this ruins Moses’ career as a family therapist, because it should. An appropriate response would have been “I have no basis to comment on this situation. Moreover, from a professional standpoint, I cannot”. Off the hook, no problem.
      For Dylan, the saddest thing is this is another major emotional assault-being exposed to the public like this- that will interrupt her life and her emotional progress as an adult. Her sense of safety and privacy to work things out has been violated, arguably by her own volition (?) For some reason, that gives anyone and everyone more latitude to criticize and speculate.
      Ultimately, she has to figure out a way to get past this so she can have some stability in her own life. I hope she can return to a place and space where she can continues to get the help she needs and find some peace.
      Peace be with you, Dylan. Many of us are pulling for your mental and emotional health.

      • Sloane Wyatt says:

        Thank you for an excellent and thought provoking letter, Ravensdaughter.

        Publicly speaking out will not, IMO opinion stop Dylan’s progress. She’s a force to be reckoned with.

        What does the healing process look like?
        Every person responds to trauma in a different way, and there is no one “right” way to heal. A person may experience some of the following stages and emotions, and others may not.

        • Recognizing that healing is possible.

        • The decision to heal.

        • The Emergency Stage.
        During this stage the abuse may be all that the survivor can think about and it may feel as though their life is constantly in crisis. This stage may feel very uncomfortable, but it is important that the survivors knows that it will come to an end.

        • Remembering.

        • Believing the abuse happened

        • Breaking the silence.
        Speaking out about the abuse can be a very powerful step for survivors, and one that takes a great deal of courage. Some choose to tell a counselor, some a family member or partner and others choose to speak out at a public event.

        • Understanding that the abuse is not their fault.

        • Connecting to the child within.

        • Grieving.

        • Anger.

        • Forgiveness?
        Some people may want to forgive their abuser, but for others this is not a part of the healing process at all.

        • Spirituality.

        • The process of change.

        • Resolution and moving on.
        There will come a point where you feel like life is no longer a constant crisis. One day, a child sex abuse victim may find they have a happy life with friends and/or a spouse and family of their own. Their abuser didn’t win. – http://www.theadvocacycenter.org/adv_abuseheal.html

        Dylan has been able to move on so much, and she’s inspiring countless others to do so as well. Even though she’s at the front lines right now, her strength and courage shows the world she’s confident, strong, and able to have a rich and rewarding life.

    • sapphoandgrits says:

      She broke her silence, finally. That’s how it’s helpful to her.

      Those of us who love abuse survivors applaud her, as well as hurt for her.

      • nicegirl says:

        Sloane Wyatt, seriously, you are a treasure. Thank you for your thoughtful and educational comments, as always.

  82. Evi says:

    What I find disturbing, especially on some websites, are the number of excuses made about Allen as well as comments that Dylan Farrow must have fantasised it all. The latter reminds me of a time in Europe when Sigmund Freud was almost ostracised for saying that child abuse existed. Instead, he was forced to revise his view and create the ‘seduction theory’, that children were fantasising about their fathers sleeping with them or molesting them.
    Now, something did happen to Dylan Farrow. No child comes up with these as fantasies. The only exception would be if she attended therapy sessions where therapists used the controversial technique of forgotten memory retrieval. But there is no evidence that this banned therapy happened to her. For her brother to nullify her experience, raises more questions.
    As for the ‘experts’ who said that Dylan Farrow mixed fantasy with reality. How do they really know? Court appointed experts don’t take a hell of a lot of time to assess situations. They’re paid well to write their reports, but they also fail to realise that children do not have the conceptual apparatus or nous to explain the abuse that happened to them in the way an adult can.
    To those who like to defend Allen regarding Soon-Yi, I have one question: Out of all the women in NYC, he had to choose his step daughter? Why? What statement was he trying to make to Mia? That he could seduce her daughter? Sure, she was 21 when the photographs surfaced. But let’s not forget that he was with Mia when Soon-Yi was 11 years old. So what was he doing throughout that time? Grooming her? He waited until she became of age, and then he thought he’d cover up his sordid behaviour.
    In other words: which normal man, sees a lover in their supposedly 11 year old step daughter, a decade later? The only men who view their step daughters as lovers are those who already had illicit feelings to begin with.
    He is one sick man in other words and actors and Hollywood laud him.
    It’s scary.

  83. Rebecca says:

    ““My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister,” Moses, 36, tells PEOPLE in the magazine’s new issue. “And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.”

    Gee, ya think a mother would actually be angry at someone who molested their child!? How horrible of her. (sarcasm). As a brother, Moses should probably be angry too. Perhaps this isn’t about Soon-Yi. Perhaps it is actually about the molestation of her daughter. Imagine that!

  84. Steph says:

    My heart aches for all of the victims of abuse who are dismissed or accused of lying.
    Of course we do not know exactly what happened. Since there is absolutely no proof that Dylan is lying, other than denials from the accused abuser, I think it is awful that people don’t believe her.

  85. Ravensdaughter says:

    Suggested reading for all of us, an article from “The Atlantic”:
    “WHY YOUNG SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS TELL INCOHERENT STORIES”
    http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/why-young-sexual-assault-victims-tell-incoherent-stories/283613/
    I wish this were some sort of scientific study, but there are so few when it comes to child sexual abuse. Science makes things legitimate, right? Maybe that’s why Dr. Moses Farrow keeps throwing his qualifications around (see my comment above)
    As an “anecdotal account” (what a science journal would call Dylan’s or the Atlantic author’s accounts), this IS a very compelling and articulate response to the continuing controversy…

  86. emma says:

    I’m stunned that anyone could still be defending WA. Seriously. What would make certain people think these allegations are likely true, a video of the act? Even then, some of you all would claim that “Mia doctored the video”, and “that wasn’t WA”, and blah, blah, blah. I’m curious how much his PR firm pays, per comment.

  87. Jayna says:

    I’ve been reading all of the old articles from back then. I remember I read them all as it was going on but forgot a lot of the back and forthing of both of them in interviews and all of the facts as they came out, etc. I also read that Soon-Yi received a Master’s degree in Special Education from Columbia. I thought she was supposed to be menally delayed?

    Here’s an interview with Woody Allen with Time Magazine I found where they asked him questions about all of this. I think it was a year after it happened and he and Soon were dating but she was still away at college. I don’t think I had ever read this one. I had forgotten what a huge clusterf’ck it was back then. Woody is definitely narcissistic.

    http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,160439,00.html

    • J.Mo says:

      Hey Jayna, thanks for those links. I haven’t read them yet but just my thoughts on Soon Yi. I recall she had tutors to help her where she might have had difficulty but the delays described in Vanity Fair were more about her social awkwardness and naïveté. Maybe she was fine academically with some learning issues. I do think it telling (& I’m sorry to keep repeating this) but her only family & influence has been Woody. She doesn’t have friends in Cate, Scarlett, Alec, Diane, etc; I think she might rule the roost at home but not in real ways.

  88. Jayna says:

    Another one from 2011 for those on here, like me, that’s re-reading old interviews or articles and ones I had not read.

    http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/mar/13/woody-allen-interview-carole-cadwalladr

    • Sloane Wyatt says:

      OMG, Jayna!!

      That article peels back Woody Allen’s carefully constructed lid! This should be required reading for all his RL supporters. (The Woody -Bot sockpuppets can suck it.)

      Q. “So do you have any contact with your children with Mia now, then?

      WA. “Oh. Contact with those children? No, no. I don’t have contact with those children. I just have contact with my children.”

      He is too clever by far in this old interview and his true colors are flying free. What a complete and utter slime that man is.

  89. Jupiter says:

    I must say that I really don’t want to see Ronan Farrow’s show after all this. It would only remind me of this whole sordid mess.

  90. CharmingFrock says:

    The main reason I believe that Woody Allen is a child molester is because of his pervy, incestious movies. In Manhattan, wasn’t he “dating” a 16 year old girl and he was in his 40’s? And don’t get me started on Hannah and her Sisters. Also, the relationship with Soon Yi clearly started when she was underaged. So, what’s the deal with Moses? Ummm…Allen is OLD and will die soon with a HUGE estate.

  91. minxx says:

    This is a horrific situation for everyone involved, particularly Dylan. I do believe she’s convinced the abuse happened and she suffers because of it terrribly. Other than that, I don’t know what to believe. Obviously, WA is not a paragon of morality – his relationship with Soon-Yi shows that the men is a narcissist and has no boundries. It’s not hard to believe he developed an unhealthy obsession with Dylan. But then the allegation of abuse surfaced only when WA broke up with Mia and took up with SY. Mia seems vindictive to an extreme level – she changed kids’ names and even implied that Ronan was not WA’s child – to me it means that she’s seriously manipulative and doesn’t think much of her kids’ feelings. I don’t buy that mother -earth image she’s trying to project, This is a sad affair – poor Dylan.

    • Erm says:

      It’s pretty clear that Ronan isn’t WA’s son. Ronan looks exactly like a young Frank Sinatra. That’s probably not so much vindictiveness as Mia admitting that she got pregnant with a man who wasn’t her recognised partner at the time. C’mon, it’s bleeding obvious that Ronan isn’t Woody’s, and Mia knew she couldn’t pretend it was so and have people believe her.

    • Sloane Wyatt says:

      minxx & Erm,

      The old ‘Nuts & Sluts’ misdirection is not working.

  92. Sloane Wyatt says:

    I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Kaiser and Celebitchy for all they do!

    This story is a is doing a terrific job in highlighting how the many brave posters sharing their healing here, and how the lurkers throughout the world, and how Dylan overcome their childhood sexual abuse.

    Pruning out redundant comments and keeping this whole thread on point can be a thankless job, but I know we ALL appreciate all the hard work it takes to keep this discussion flowing.

    Thank you.

  93. iheartjacksparrow says:

    Check Radar Online for the actual 1993 report (.pdf) that concludes Dylan was not abused.

  94. Evie says:

    Hopefully Dylan can heal and find peace. And if finding her voice and telling her story helps others, then so much the better.

    Woody Allen has asked the New York Times to give him the same Op Ed column they accorded Dylan to rebut her article. The paper has told him to send it in but has not yet said they’ll publish it. Odds are very good though that they will. Now that Moses has spoken out in People and Dylan responded. How long before other family members weigh in?

    I have a feeling this is only the beginning. This ugly situation could get even uglier. I hope Dylan is prepared.

  95. holly hobby says:

    Sounds like Moses took a long long drink from the pervert-ade if he’s spouting off about the alleged molestation or lack thereof. Everyone should read the excerpts of the judge’s findings:

    http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1993/Excerpts-From-Judge-s-Decision-in-Allen-Farrow-Custody-Trial-With-PM-Woody-Mia-Bjt/id-8c281f7ad3a0a7b363e338caead3b7a9

    Particularly of interest:

    On Allen’s sexual relationship with Soon-Yi Previn, the children’s sister: ”Mr. Allen’s deficiencies as a custodial parent are magnified by his affair with Soon-Yi. … He showed no understanding that the bonds developed between adoptive brothers and sisters are no less worthy of respect and protection than those between biological siblings.”

    On Allen’s response to a sex abuse allegation: ”Mr. Allen’s response to Dylan’s claim of sexual abuse was an attack upon Ms. Farrow, whose parenting ability and emotional stability he impugned without the support of any significant credible evidence.”

    On Allen’s litigation tactics: ”His trial strategy has been to separate his children from their brothers and sisters; to turn the children against their mother; to divide adopted children from biological children; to incite the family against the household help; and to set the household employees against each other.”

    So for all those defenders out there, I invite you to read the judge’s findings. This is a matter of court record. This pervert was not exonerated in a court of law. Rather, the prosecutor declined to pursue the case due to the child’s fragile state.

    That’s all I need to know about this and I believe Dylan.

  96. bobbisue says:

    It’s not for him, or any one else to confirm or deny whether or not it happened! The only two people who can confirm or deny are the accused/perpetrator and the accuser/victim.

  97. bobbisue says:

    Moreover, in Mia’s book Moses was treated appallingly by Woody. Ignored and like he didn’t exist. It’s a painful thread throughout the story. He has been seeking Woody’s love and approval for decades.