Maybe Alec Baldwin just wants to show his loyalty to a colleague who has become problematic, or perhaps he sees himself as the defender of seemingly lost causes.
While some of Woody Allen’s other celebrity defenders are keeping their silence, Baldwin, the famously feisty actor, is speaking up for the beleaguered filmmaker.
Baldwin’s defense comes the day after HBO aired the first episode of its explosive new documentary, “Allen v. Farrow.” The four-part documentary goes “behind the years of sensational headlines” to reveal “the private story” about allegations that the filmmaker molested his 7-year-old daughter Dylan Farrow in 1992.
Baldwin slammed the documentary in a series of tweets. Baldwin, who starred in Allen’s 2013 film “Blue Jasmine,” said the film’s revelations are “gossip not justice.” He said, “If Dylan stands by her charges, then stop the gossiping.”
Who needs courtrooms or rule of law when we have trial by media?https://t.co/0D1BmCmrtX
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) February 22, 2021
Baldwin also revived Allen’s steadfast argument that he was never charged “because they couldn’t prove their case.”
Baldwin tweeted: “They couldn’t prove their case because it didn’t happen.” He takes particular issue with Frank Maco, the Connecticut state prosecutor who declined to file charges after police investigated Dylan’s abuse claims.
At the time, Maco said he had probable cause to bring charges, but wouldn’t because he didn’t want to further traumatize a young Dylan by putting her on the witness stand.
“If u thought he was guilty, u bring the case!” Baldwin tweeted. “You don’t condemn someone to a life of innuendo and ruin his life and those of his family. Maco is among the villains here. He should have brought the charges, or shut up.”
Baldwin’s defense of Allen follows a statement issued Sunday by the Oscar-winning filmmaker and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn. The couple blasted the documentary as being a “hatchet job riddled with falsehoods” and said they didn’t agree to be interviewed by directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering because they were only given a few days to consider participating.
Allen’s statement, as well as Baldwin’s defense, are being overshadowed by largely positive response from TV critics and advocates for survivors of sexual abuse. Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg said the documentary could be a “galvanizing” cultural event, similar to “Finding Neverland,” the devastating HBO documentary about Michael Jackson.
Rosenberg said “Allen v. Farrow” puts Dylan Farrow at the center stage of the narrative about the scandal. Up until a few years ago, the story had been mostly controlled by Allen, who alleged his vengeful ex-partner, Mia Farrow, coached her daughter to accuse him of molestation. Allen and Mia Farrow broke up in 1992 after she learned he was having an affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, who was then a college freshman.
The headline for the KQED’s review doesn’t bode well for the director’s legacy, saying the documentary was the “most damning indictment of Allen yet.” It “meticulously” explores previously known information about Allen and the case in depth, while also presenting never-before-seen Farrow family photos and videos. That includes a long-discussed 1992 video that Mia Farrow shot of Dylan describing the alleged abuse.
With another three episodes to air over the next three weeks, Allen’s most steadfast celebrity defenders have yet to issue statements about the documentary. That includes his “Annie Hall” co-star Diane Keaton and Scarlett Johansson, who worked with him in “Match Point.” Johansson defended Allen in 2019 when she told the Hollywood Reporter, “I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
Moses Farrow, whom Allen adopted with Mia Farrow, also defended his father in 2018, accusing his mother of being the physically and mentally abusive parent. Moses Farrow, now a therapist living in Connecticut, didn’t participate in “Allen v. Farrow.” He also hasn’t issued a recent statement, but the top of his Twitter account features a pinned tweet, linking to a blog post where he describes the years of abuse he and Soon-Yi suffered from Mia Farrow.
I've written this piece about my family, my childhood and the truth about my mother… and I wanted to share it with you. #truthislouder https://t.co/PGzskJ2jyS pic.twitter.com/pLb8htRwgn
— Moses Farrow (@MosesFarrow) May 23, 2018
The Washington Post’s Rosenberg questions whether the “revealing” new information the documentary shares is “illuminating” enough to change people’s minds one way or another.
Baldwin is not entirely alone in believing that Allen has been treated unfairly in today’s court of public opinion, based on the responses of some who follow Baldwin’s Twitter account.
“Thank you for continuing to defend Woody Allen,” someone replied to Baldwin’s tweets.
Another wrote: “Woody and Mia were never married. He was cleared of all charges by child abuse investigators. Furthermore, investigators discovered MF’s treatment of her adopted children was deeply toxic & abusive. None of which is ever mentioned by American media.”
But many chastised Baldwin for defending Allen. They questioned why “this is the hill” Baldwin “wants to die on,” or they said Allen was “creepy” for having an affair with Dylan’s step-sister, Soon-Yi, when he was in his 50s.
“I love ya AB but I gotta say the fact that he groomed his girlfriends daughter makes these allegations that much more believable,” tweeted one person.
The Allen critics also said it was important that a survivor was finally getting “to tell her story after 30 years of her celebrity abuser not being held accountable.”
“Allen is a genius filmmaker and Allen allegedly sexually molested his daughter Dylan,” tweeted another to Baldwin “Both can be true. You don’t know what happened between Allen and Dylan, so you can’t deny her story. Make no mistake, it is Dylan’s story to tell. She has every right for her truth to be heard.”
