commentary by Patrick H. Moore
The Golden Globes honored Woody Allen with the Cecil B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award Sunday night. Diane Keaton, who accepted the award on Allen’s behalf, tried her best to turn the moment into not just a tribute to his work but also a tribute to the man himself by singing a little ditty about friendship as part of her presentation.
Throughout the events of the evening, many of us were unable to come to grips with the fact that the great Allen — writer, director, producer, actor and rare wit — is also the man who Dylan Farrow (who now goes by another name) accused of molesting her when she was seven years old.
In 1994, the courts looked at Mia Farrow’s accusations that Allen had molested 7-year-old Dylan and gave him a partial pass. The courts found the evidence inconclusive but were sufficiently concerned to deny Allen visitation privileges after he and Mia Farrow separated. Dylan recently discussed the issue with Vanity Fair and affirmed the allegations, stating that it was an ongoing problem that she had tolerated it because she thought “this was how fathers treated their daughters. This was normal interaction, and I was not normal for feeling uncomfortable about it.”
The statement, “this was how fathers treated their daughters”, is one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard, partly because all too often it turns out to be true. Dylan Farrow told Vanity Fair that she finally told her mother after an incident in the attic, because she was “cracking” under the stress. Upon hearing this, I am reminded of the line from Don McLean’s classic song, “American Pie”:
“My hands were clenched in fists of rage.” The thought of Woody Allen sneaking off to the attic with 7-year-old Dylan is absolutely appalling, and though I clearly cannot prove it happened, I suspect it may have.
Allen, of course, and his group of high-priced lawyers, deny the allegations.
Amanda Marcotte of The XX Factor writes:
There’s a case to be made for trying to separate the art from the artist, but Keaton and the chummy industry around her seemed to think we should forgive a man’s sins because we like his movies. That’s too big an ask.
Looking slightly nervous, as did some of the film mucky-mucks in the audience, Keaton described Allen’s remarkable film achievements in some detail: He has written 74 film scripts over the last 48 years and every one of them, apparently, has been made into a movie. He has employed 179 actresses who were fortunate to demonstrate their talents within the unique scope and breadth of Allen’s writing. In short, Keaton worked hard to cast Allen in the role of a benevolent and talented writer with a unique understanding of women, their voices, their needs, trials, hopes and tribulations.
Then, after extolling Allen’s virtues AND HUMANITY for three of four minutes, Keaton sang an old ditty in a slightly trembling more or less on-key voice:
“Make new friends/but keep the old/One is silver and the other gold.”
Need I say Weird?
The glorification of Allen, his career, and the alleged fact that he was/is a man who understands women’s feelings, didn’t go over well with two people from the director’s past. Ronan Farrow — the son of Mr. Allen and actress Mia Farrow, and Dylan’s stepbrother — tweeted:
“Missed the Woody Allen tribute. Did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?”
Mia Farrow also wasn’t standing for it. She tweeted:
“A woman has publicly detailed Woody Allen’s molestation of her at age 7. GoldenGlobe tribute showed contempt for her & all abuse survivors.”
In her Vanity Fair interview, Dylan also stated:
“I’m scared of (Allen), his image. I have never been asked to testify. If I could talk to the seven-year-old Dylan, I would tell her to be brave, to testify.”
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Am I being too hard on Allen? I don’t think think so. As I’ve stated before, I’m not a big fan of child molesters, no matter what other achievements they may have to their credit.
However, I could certainly handled Allen receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award if he had also received the other award he apparently deserves: The Woody Allen Lifetime Shame Award.
Please click below to read our previous post on Dylan Farrow’s accusations:
Woody Allen’s Adopted Daughter Breaks 20-Year Silence About Woody’s Alleged Sexual Molestation