In an interview with the BBC published early Sunday, the director Woody Allen addressed the wave of allegations against Harvey Weinstein, calling it “tragic for the poor women” but also warning against a “witch hunt atmosphere.”
Mr. Allen’s comments to the BBC were published on the heels of Mr. Weinstein’s expulsion from the Motion Picture Academy on Saturday. The director and producer worked together on several films in the 1990s, and Mr. Allen denied knowledge about any misconduct: “No one ever came to me or told me horror stories with any real seriousness,” he said. “And they wouldn’t, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in making your movie.”
“The whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for everybody involved,” Mr. Allen said. “Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that his life is so messed up.”
However, Mr. Allen also cautioned about rushing to judgment. “You also don’t want it to lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself. That’s not right either.”
Mr. Weinstein’s public stature has rapidly fallen since The New York Times published an investigative report on Oct. 5 detailing decades of sexual harassment allegations against him. Last week, Ronan Farrow, Mr. Allen’s estranged son, published an article in The New Yorker recounting the stories of 13 women who say Mr. Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them since the 1990s.
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Source: New York Times
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