Dylan Farrow Opens Up About Alleged Sexual Abuse by Woody Allen in New York Times

Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, has penned an open letter in The New York Times, recalling her alleged account against the acclaimed director, saying that he sexually assaulted her at age 7. The letter appears as part of Nicholas Kristof's blog.

As Kristof explains: "It's important to note that Woody Allen was never prosecuted in this case and has consistently denied wrongdoing; he deserves the presumption of innocence. So why publish an account of an old case on my blog? Partly because the Golden Globe lifetime achievement award to Allen ignited a debate about the propriety of the award. Partly because the root issue here isn't celebrity but sex abuse. And partly because countless people on all sides have written passionately about these events, but we haven't fully heard from the young woman who was at the heart of them."

"What's your favorite Woody Allen movie?" Farrow's letter begins. "Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we'd go to Paris and I'd be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains."

Farrow goes on to explain the...that arose within Allen's marriage to her mother, Mia Farrow.

She writes: "Woody Allen was never convicted of any crime. That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up. I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls. I was terrified of being touched by men."

"Today, I consider myself lucky," Farrow concludes. "I am happily married. I have the support of my amazing brothers and sisters. I have a mother who found within herself a well of fortitude that saved us from the chaos a predator brought into our home."

For Farrow's entire letter, click here.

Photo by Walter McBride

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