Dylan Farrow, adopted daughter of director Woody Allen, wrote an essay last month for the L.A. Times reiterating an accusation she has maintained since childhood: that Allen allegedly molested her when she was 7 years old. Since then, Mia Farrow’s daughter has been increasingly vocal about the growing dissonance between Hollywood’s anti-sexual-harassment reckoning, symbolized just last night by the Golden Globes’#TimesUp demonstration, and the industry’s willingness to ignore her allegations against Allen.
“I fully support women taking a stand, linking arms with other women (and men), advocating on behalf of one another to effect change not only in the entertainment industry but in the world at large,†Farrow told BuzzFeed News in a statement. “That is an admirable and worthwhile objective, I hope these women change the world. That said, the people who join this movement without taking any kind of personal accountability for the ways in which their own words and decisions have helped to perpetuate the culture they are fighting against, that’s hard for me to reconcile.â€
Farrow points to the actresses and actors who supported the Time’s Up initiative, vocally or financially, despite appearing in Woody Allen films and praising his work. Blake Lively and Justin Timberlake, she observes, have both publicly thrown their support behind efforts to end sexual harassment and assault. They have also appeared in Woody Allen’s Café Society and Wonder Wheel, respectively. “I struggle to understand how a woman who believes Woody Allen is ‘empowering to women’ can claim the role as an advocate for women suffering from sexual harassment,†says Farrow. “I struggle with how a powerful force like Justin Timberlake can claim to be in awe of the strength of women and stand with them at this #MeToo moment and then in the next breath say that working with Woody Allen is a ‘dream come true.’â€
As Farrow explained in a series of tweets made during last night’s awards show, she hopes the current momentum of #MeToo can carry her story along with it. “It’s of course particularly hard for me as a survivor of sexual abuse to know that for these particular individuals I am not part of the ‘every woman’ they stand for,†Farrow’s statement to BuzzFeed News concludes. “I seem to remain secondary to their ambition, which undermines the powerful and embracing message they are trying to send.â€