The open letter Dylan Farrow penned accusing Woody Allen of molesting her at the age of 7 continues to haunt Hollywood.
The letter also brought past quotes and anecdotes about Allen into a new, uncomfortable, light.
New York Magazine chronicles some of the most disturbing, on the record, information about Allen in the wake of the open letter.
The details of the allegations against Allen, which never resulted in criminal charges, are reported in the 1992 Vanity Fair article “Mia’s Story,” by Maureen Orth, which begins, “There was an unwritten rule in Mia Farrow’s house that Woody Allen was never supposed to be left alone with their seven-year-old adopted daughter, Dylan.
Another story from roughly that era details Allen’s odd attachment to the young Dylan Farrow.
From the start, Farrow’s friends say, Allen seemed “obsessed” by the little girl. He would arrive at Mia’s house at six in the morning and sit on the end of Dylan’s bed, staring at her until she woke up. He insisted that she be kept up until he got home in the evening to tuck her in. He was reluctant to leave her alone at school. His behavior struck several parents of other children as odd.
The new article also uncovers a 1976 interview from People magazine detailing the director’s confessions about love and sex.
I’m open-minded about sex. I’m not above reproach; if anything, I’m below reproach. I mean, if I was caught in a love nest with 15 12-year-old girls tomorrow, people would think, yeah, I always knew that about him.” Allen pauses. “Nothing I could come up with would surprise anyone,” he ventures helplessly. “I admit to it all.
We also learn anew about a pen pal relationship Allen had with a then-13-year-old girl named Nancy. Allen asked the youngster a series of chummy questions during their exchanges, like, “What school do you go to? What hobbies do you have? How old are your parents and what do they do? What are your moods like? Are you energetic?”
The two did meet once, although the girl brought along two adults. Here is how she recalls the moment:
I couldn’t say a word, and my companions filled in the silence with aimless chatter while Woody, wearing his very same clothes from Annie Hall, sat Indian-style in an armchair, nodding politely and trying to catch my eye.