Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn put out a statement Sunday night in response to part one of the new HBO doc “Allen v. Farrow,” calling it a “a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods.”
“These documentarians had no interest in the truth. Instead, they spent years surreptitiously collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers to put together a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods,” the statement read, according to multiple media outlets. “Woody and Soon-Yi were approached less than two months ago and given only a matter of days ‘to respond.’ Of course, they declined to do so.”
The statement continued, “As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false. Multiple agencies investigated them at the time and found that, whatever Dylan Farrow may have been led to believe, absolutely no abuse had ever taken place. It is sadly unsurprising that the network to air this is HBO — which has a standing production deal and business relationship with Ronan Farrow. While this shoddy hit piece may gain attention, it does not change the facts.”
The four-part docuseries directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering — the two filmmakers behind “On the Record,” the HBO Max documentary examining the sexual assault accusations against Russell Simmons — pieces together court documents, interviews and home footage taken by Mia Farrow. Among the footage are tapes where her daughter Dylan Farrow, then 7 years old, recounts being sexually assaulted by Woody Allen. In addition, it reexamines Dylan’s account, both as a child and now as an adult, of the high-profile custody battle between her parents.
The series also provides an incisive look at how Allen and Mia Farrow were portrayed in media coverage and treated by the entertainment industry in the years before and after the #MeToo movement grew in prominence in Hollywood.
Woody Allen has repeatedly denied sexually assaulting Dylan Farrow.
“Allen v. Farrow” premiered Sunday night on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes 2-4 will air the following Sundays at the same time.