NOTE: This article contains disturbing and sexually explicit language. Please read at your own discretion.
Woody Allen believes he should be “the poster boy” for the #MeToo movement.
In an interview that was broadcast Sunday night, Allen said he’s a “big advocate” of #MeToo, and once again denied allegations that he molested Dylan Farrow, his adopted daughter.
“I feel when they find people who harass innocent women and men, it’s a good thing that they’re exposing them. It’s funny, I should be the poster boy for the #MeToo movement because I’ve worked in movies for 50 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of actresses … and not a single one, big ones, famous ones, have ever, ever, suggested any kind of impropriety at all. I’ve always had a wonderful record with them,” he told Argentine journalist Jorge Lanata in New York.
READ MORE: Dylan Farrow gives first TV interview about alleged Woody Allen sexual abuse
“I think in any situation where anyone is accused of something unjustly, this is a sad thing. I think everybody would agree with that … Everyone wants justice to be done. If there is something like the #MeToo movement now, you root for them, you want them to bring to justice these terrible harassers, these people who do all these terrible things. And I think that’s a good thing,” Allen said.
Allen continued, “What bothers me is that I get linked with them. People who have been accused by 20 women, 50 women, 100 women of abuse and abuse and abuse — and I, who was only accused by one woman in a child custody case which was looked at and proven to be untrue, I get lumped in with these people.”
Farrow, Allen’s daughter, in 2014 renewed the claim that Allen molested her in an attic in 1992 when she was 7 years old. Allen, who has long denied the allegations, was investigated for the incident but not charged.
READ MORE: Dylan Farrow responds to NY Times columnist for questioning Woody Allen claims
The interviewer also asked whether Allen molested his adopted daughter in an attic when she was 7.
“Of course not, I mean this is just so crazy. This is something that had been thoroughly looked at 25 years ago by all the authorities and everybody came to the conclusion that it was untrue,” Allen continued. “And that was the end and I’ve gone on with my life. For it to come back now, it’s a terrible thing to accuse a person of. I’m a man with a family and my own children. So, of course, it’s upsetting.”
Allen said he felt “distressed” about the allegations resurfacing in the midst of the #MeToo movement.
“Of course, I did not molest Dylan,” he wrote in his open letter to the New York Times. ” I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter’s well-being. Being taught to hate your father and made to believe he molested you has already taken a psychological toll on this lovely young woman.”
READ MORE: Woody Allen responds to Dylan Farrow’s molestation claim
Earlier this year, Mira Sorvino published a public apology to Farrow, saying she was sorry for “turning a blind eye” to Farrow’s accusations against Allen. She also vowed never to work with him again. Sorvino starred in Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite.
Other actors have also distanced themselves from Allen, raising questions about the future of the prolific filmmaker in an industry sensitive to allegations of sexual misconduct in the midst of the #MeToo movement.
“I’m in principle, and in spirit, completely in favour of their bringing to justice genuine harassers,” Allen said during the interview with Argentina’s Channel 13.
He added: “Now, if innocent ones get swept up in there, that’s very sad for the person, it’s unjust, but otherwise, I think it’s a very good thing to expose harassment.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
—With files from the Associated Press