Woody Allen And Wife Soon-Yi Previn Say HBO Docu-Series “Allen V. Farrow” Is A “Hatchet Job”; Filmmaker’s Memoir Publisher Considering Lawsuit Against Network

Woody Allen calls the HBO documentary “Allen v. Farrow” a “hatchet job,” and his memoir publisher is threatening to sue the network.

It’s been a longstanding and ongoing allegation in Hollywood that film director Woody Allen sexually abused his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, whose claims are highlighted in an HBO documentary series. Allen isn’t too happy about it. The HBO four-part series made its debut on Sunday, and it includes interviews with Allen’s former partner and Dylan’s adoptive mother, Mia Farrow. 

Both Farrows have accused Allen of sexually assaulting Dylan repeatedly throughout her childhood, beginning at age 7 in 1992. The series also consists of interviews with people who knew the family.

Immediately after the first episode aired, Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn, who also is Farrow’s adopted child and grew up with Dylan, issued a statement denying and dismissing the documentary. They called the series a “hatchet job” and said the series’ makers have “no interest in the truth.” 

“Instead, they spent years surreptitiously collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers to put together a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods,” the statement said. “As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false.”

While these allegations have lasted for years, Allen has never been arrested or prosecuted. Allen has continuously claimed Mia Farrow has made up the allegations and fed them to Dylan. The first time the allegations were made, in 1993, police in Connecticut launched an investigation. According to Yahoo! News, a new statement from Allen and Previn’s spokesperson said “multiple agencies” had investigated the allegation at the time “and found that, whatever Dylan Farrow may have been led to believe, absolutely no abuse had ever taken place.” 

The statement added that it was “sadly unsurprising that the network to air this is HBO – which has a standing production deal and business relationship with Ronan Farrow.” Ronan is Dylan’s brother, and he has supported his sister’s story. “While this shoddy hit piece may gain attention, it does not change the facts,” the statement said.

In the meantime, Allen’s memoir publisher Skyhorse Publishing is considering a copyright infringement lawsuit against HBO and the series filmmakers for allegedly using audio from Allen’s 2020 memoir Apropos of Nothing. “Neither the producers nor HBO ever approached Skyhorse to request permission to use excerpts from the audiobook,” the publishing company told Deadline on Monday. “Skyhorse received information second-hand only at the very end of last week that each of the documentary’s four episodes makes extensive use of audiobook excerpts,” Skyhorse added. 

“Promptly on Friday, February 19, our attorney notified HBO’s in-house counsel by letter that if the use of the audiobook were anywhere near what we were hearing, it would constitute copyright infringement. HBO has not responded to our letter.”