Woody Allen again defended his support of the #MeToo movement and said in a new interview promoting his film “A Rainy Day in New York” that he’s done everything the movement hopes to achieve.
The question came in response to whether he regretted a statement he made in 2018, saying that he should be the “poster boy” for the #MeToo movement due to his long career working with actresses.
“No, not at all. I’ve worked with hundreds of actresses, not one of them has ever complained about me; not a single complaint. I’ve employed women in the top capacity for years and we’ve always paid them exactly the equal of men,” Allen told France 24. “I’ve done everything the #MeToo movement would love to achieve.”
Hollywood has distanced itself from Allen after in the wake of the #MeToo movement, accusations resurfaced from his daughter Dylan Farrow that he inappropriately touched her when she was seven years old. Investigators found no evidence of abuse and Allen has repeatedly denied the accusations.
On Wednesday, Scarlett Johansson, who has worked with Allen on three of his films, defended Allen and said she would gladly work with him again.
“I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime,” she said.
That comment earned Johansson online backlash, including from Farrow herself.
“Because if we’ve learned anything from the past two years it’s that you definitely should believe male predators who “maintain their innocence” without question,” Farrow said in a tweet. “Scarlett has a long way to go in understanding the issue she claims to champion.”
Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” stars Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet and is set to be released in France after opening the Deauville American Film Festival. However, it still does not have domestic distribution after Amazon Studios terminated their four-picture deal with Allen, in part because of his 2018 comments about the #MeToo movement.
Allen said he would continue to work regardless of whether his films got funding and that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he may not get the chance to work in Hollywood again.
“If people enjoy the movie, I think it will eventually be released in the United States. If people come and say this is boring, I hate this movie, I don’t like it, there will be no enthusiasm to release it in the United States. But for me it doesn’t matter. I’ve already finished another movie. ‘Rainy Day’ for me is history,” Allen said. “No, I don’t fear, I couldn’t care less. I’ve never worked in Hollywood. I always worked in New York. It doesn’t matter to me for a second. If tomorrow no one would finance my films or nobody would finance my theater, plays or books, I’ll still get up and write. Because that’s what I do. So I will always work. What happens to it commercially is another matter.”
Watch Allen’s full interview via France 24.