Sean Penn was a guest on Bill Maher’s podcast, and when the topic of Woody Allen came about, both of them did not hold back in their defence of the legendary director:
Sean Penn: “The Woody thing never made sense to me because I’ve never heard, watching forensic files, of a pedophile who only did it once. It just never made any sense to me. Also, in the middle of a custody fight with somebody (Mia Farrow) who adopted any child they could find, and whose brother was doing time in jail as a pedophile.”
Bill Maher: “Also, from a woman who had a giant motivation to be veangful beyond comprehension. Woody was also exonerated by two different investigations. “Hollywood is a bunch of f***ing cowards,” Maher said before softening his tone. “I love ‘em. I love show business… the default setting for anyone in show business is a complete idiot … especially actors”
Clearly, Maher and Penn don’t believe the accusations rallied against Woody Allen that he molested his then-child, Dylan Farrow, when she was just a girl. They detailed the reasons why Allen is likely innocent of the charges and chastised actors who turned on Allen after years of begging for roles in his movies.
If one took the time to read up on the history of Allen v Farrow then they would surely come out of it with broader knowledge of Allen’s innocence. The problem is that not many bother to read anymore, they’d rather blindly trust 140 character tweets than actually seek the facts of the case.
I highly recommend Robert Weide’s excellent dissections of Allen v Farrow which were published on 5.30.16, 12.13.17 and, most recently, 1.14.18. As well as Moses Farrow’s vehement defense of his dad.
As I wrote in my 03.09.20 essay, titled “The Case for Woody Allen’s Innocence”:
“This is a polarizing and infuriating scandal and the noise around it is not about to quell anytime soon. And yet, in an age where information is abundant, and educating yourself on just about anything is just a click away, the disinformation campaign led by the Farrows is dangerous and destructive to the #MeToo movement, whose historic significance should not be dampened and taken advantage of by opportunists.”
Danny Boyle tells Vanity Fair that AI was used to animate old photographs—which means Margaret Thatcher and the Kray brothers—and to create mice running around the newsroom.