UPDATE 12:03 P.M. PST: Dylan Farrow has weighed in on ScarJo’s comments, and she very much does not approve. In response to an L.A. Times article about the actress’ defense of the filmmaker, Woody’s adopted daughter tweeted:
“Because if we’ve learned anything from the past two years it’s that you definitely should believe male predators who ‘maintain their innocence’ without question. Scarlett has a long way to go in understanding the issue she claims to champion.”
Scarlett Johansson is the highest paid actress in the world, having recently topped Forbes‘ list with $56 million for the last year of work. She’s got three movies in the pipe, buzzy award contenders Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit and one last Marvel Studios hurrah (also her first solo film), Black Widow.
And she’s putting all that Hollywood weight firmly behind… Woody Allen??
Related: Scarlett Is Engaged To SNL Star Colin Jost
The Avengers: Endgame star has truly reached the point of not giving a f**k what anyone thinks, as evidenced by her response to a question about the controversial filmmaker in a candid new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
She told the magazine:
“How do I feel about Woody Allen? I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him any time.”
Yowza. That’s a bold statement these days.
Woody was investigated for child molestation back in the early ’90s after his daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of touching her inappropriately. At the time it was determined there was no case; however in the Time’s Up era, people have reconsidered their views on how cleared his name really is.
Actors like Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Hall who worked with him on recent projects promised to donate their salaries to charities helping women in need.
Many actors who worked with him in the past have been convinced. Ellen Page called acting in To Rome With Love the “biggest regret” of her career. Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her role in Mighty Aphrodite, wrote an open apology letter to Farrow.
He has become such a pariah in Hollywood he had trouble getting his next movie off the ground, eventually finding financing in Spain.
ScarJo has starred in three Woody Allen films: Match Point, Scoop, and Vicki Cristina Barcelona. She is also one of the most outspoken members of the Time’s Up movement. So naturally she was asked about the seeming contradiction.
Simply put? She believes he’s innocent:
“I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.”
ScarJo isn’t alone. While son Ronan Farrow is firmly in Dylan’s camp, Moses Farrow has stated publicly he believes mother Mia Farrow abused and manipulated the children.
Obviously this is a fraught topic all around, which makes it all the more surprising Scarlett would touch it.
And yes, she understands why people are upset with her about the position, as it stands in direct opposition of the push to believe women:
“It’s hard because it’s a time where people are very fired up, and understandably. Things needed to be stirred up, and so people have a lot of passion and a lot of strong feelings and are angry, and rightfully so. It’s an intense time.”
It is indeed. And something tells us it’s about to get more intense for ScarJo today…
[Image via KIKA/Derrick Salters/WENN.]
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