Woody Allen has claimed people would be just as outraged if he had married an “air stewardess” as his ex-girlfriend’s daughter.
The Hollywood filmmaker caused controversy in the early 1990s when after separating from actress Mia Farrow, it emerged he had begun an affair with Soon-Yi Previn, her adoptive daughter.
Farrow and the US film director had been in a relationship for 12 years when in January 1992, she discovered nude photographs of her daughter in Allen’s home.
The Annie Hall director subsequently admitted to having started a relationship with Ms Previn, who was 21 and 35 years younger than Allen. The pair married five years later and have been together ever since.
Woody Allen was in a relationship with Mia Farrow for 12 years – Ron Galella
Allen had known Ms Previn since she was adopted by Farrow aged 10, but he has denied ever acting as a stepfather to her and insisted he always lived separately from the family.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Allen insisted that the significant public disapproval of their relationship would have been just as heightened if he had left Farrow for “an air stewardess”.
“There would have been some cosmetic differences, but it would eventually have been the same thing,” he said.
The four-time Academy Award winner, 89, is one of America’s most prolific filmmakers but has been ostracised in recent decades following abuse allegations.
Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn married in 1997 and have been together for 33 years – Jacopo Raule/FilmMagic
Eight months after Farrow learnt of Allen’s relationship with Ms Previn, the Rosemary’s Baby actress accused him of sexually abusing their adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, who was seven at the time.
Dylan Farrow has since repeated the allegation as an adult, claiming Allen molested her in the attic of her mother’s country house in Connecticut while she was playing with a toy train set.
Allen has always denied the allegation and accused Farrow of concocting the claim as an act of vengeance. State prosecutors in Connecticut investigated the molestation allegation in 1993 but did not press charges.
Public outrage over the allegation died away over the decades but was rekindled in 2014 when Dylan Farrow and her brother Ronan Farrow, an investigative journalist, reshared the claims in light of the #MeToo movement.
Woody Allen’s daughter, Dylan Farrow, says she was sexually abused by him as a child
Allen has continued to quietly produce films since then but has largely retreated from the public spotlight, with a slew of Hollywood stars expressing their regret over working with him.
However, newly released documents shedding light on Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier who died in 2019, have prompted fresh scrutiny of Allen, with letters revealing the strength of their friendship.
In a letter sent to Epstein in 2003, published by the New York Times last month, Allen said dinners at the sex offender’s mansion reminded him of Dracula’s castle, complete with “three young female vampires who service the place”.
Speaking to the Sunday Times about his new novel, What’s with Baum?, Allen said the Dracula references were a joke and that Epstein was always “charming and personable”.
The pair, who lived in the same New York neighbourhood, often socialised together after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution with a minor and served time in jail.
Jeffrey Epstein died in prison in 2019 – AP
Asked if he regretted going for dinner at Epstein’s house, the film director said: “Well, I’m a writer, so I don’t get put off.
“Those dinners were fascinating and when it was all uncovered, it becomes interesting to a writer, because then you’re dealing with a kind of nefarious character on your doorstep.”
Allen also claimed the US financier convinced his dinner guests that he had been falsely put in jail, adding: “He told us he was trying to make up for it now by being philanthropic and giving money to cutting-edge scientists and universities.
“He couldn’t have been nicer. We never, ever, saw Jeffrey with underage girls. He always had a girlfriend but never an underage girlfriend.”
He said he and Ms Previn became regular guests at Epstein’s house, where “there was always a table of illustrious people”.
Ms Previn told the Sunday Times it included Prince Andrew, whom she “could not stand” because he was “such a dullard”.
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