Drew Barrymore and Dylan Farrow are talking about the impact of the docuseries “Allen v. Farrow” that spotlights Farrow’s sexual assault allegations at the hand of her adoptive father, filmmaker Woody Allen.
In an appearance Monday on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Farrow, 35, opened up about how the recent HBO project has impacted her relationship with her mother, actress Mia Farrow.
“I think it definitely changed a lot about how me and my mom relate to each other and interact with each other,” she told Barrymore, 46. “I think there’s a very renewed level of respect, woman to woman.”
In February, “Allen v. Farrow” went beyond rehashing the nearly three-decades-old incident, providing viewers with new evidence including the first look at the long-discussed footage of Dylan, at age 7, recounting the alleged abuse.
Allen has repeatedly denied the allegations. In March, CBS Sunday Morning aired for the first time a rare interview with the 85-year-old filmmaker conducted last summer, in which he maintained his innocence while noting he believed Farrow “believes” she’s telling the truth.
“I believe she thinks it,” Allen said of Farrow’s previous allegations that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child. “She was a good kid. I do not believe that she’s making it up. I don’t believe she’s lying. I believe she believes that.”
‘Allen v. Farrow’ doc: Why ‘reluctant’ Mia and Dylan Farrow talked, Woody Allen’s response
Dylan Farrow (right) appeared Monday on "The Drew Barrymore Show." (Photo: CBS Media Ventures/“The Drew Barrymore Show”)
The Me Too movement has ushered in an industry-wide reckoning for those in entertainment to reexamine their working relationships with those who have been accused of sexual misconduct. Big names in Hollywood including Spike Lee and Kate Winslet have since denounced and distanced themselves from Allen.
Barrymore, who worked on the 1996 film “Everyone Says I Love You” with Allen, reflected on her own experiences with the director.
“There was no higher career calling card than to work with Woody Allen,” she said. “Then I had children, and it changed me because I realized that I was one of the people who was basically gaslit into not looking at a narrative beyond what I was being told. And I see what’s happening in the industry now and that is because of you making that brave choice. So thank you for that.”
Farrow was moved by Barrymore’s remarks.
“It is just so meaningful because it’s easy for me to say, ‘Of course you shouldn’t work with him. He’s a jerk, he’s a monster,’ but I just find it incredibly brave and incredibly generous that you would say to me that my story and what I went through was important enough to you to reconsider that,” Farrow said, adding she was “trying not to cry.”
“Allen v. Farrow” also features audiotapes of phone conversations between Mia Farrow and her partner of 12 years, Allen, and interviews with Farrow family members, including Dylan, Mia and son Ronan. Family friends of Mia, including singer Carly Simon, highlight what they see as Allen’s flaws.
Dylan Farrow said she was “really, really shocked” to hear that her mother and brother Ronan Farrow, among others, agreed to take part in the project, because “we wouldn’t talk about it to each other, so publicly just seemed absolutely incomprehensible.”
She added: “A few of (my siblings) didn’t and I’ve spoken to them about that and I respect that decision as well. The documentary has led to greater communication between us as a result, which is interesting.”
Contributing: Erin Jensen
‘So preposterous’: Woody Allen addresses Dylan Farrow sexual abuse allegations in rare interview
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