HBO made a controversial series called Allen vs Farrow just earlier this year. Its first episode aired on 21st February 2021. The documentary series discusses Dylan Farrow’s allegations of sexual harassment by Woody Allen. The broadcast of the series left many viewers confused, how can HBO air the series while also having six of Allen’s films on the channel?
About the controversial HBO documentary series
As reported on the Indie Wire page, Allen’s films now available on the streaming service are Scoop, Broadway Danny Rose, Shadows and Fog, Radio Days, Another Woman, and September. Five of the six films starring Mia Farrow. But to be plainly said none of these films are actually his best works. “These titles will remain available in libraries to allow viewers to make their own informed decisions,” HBO said in a statement to The Wrap. Woody Allen expressed his anger stating that the hour-long HBO documentary is riddled with falsehood. HBO Max officials also stated that they will not be removing actor and director Woody Allen’s films from its streaming platform. HBO’s decision to continue streaming Allen’s film drew the ire of many film industry voices on social media. Ernest Media Empire journalist Ernest Owens delivered his criticism on Twitter. “The white privilege of letting Woody Allen’s film stay on HBO Max, while now (HBO Max) is showing a documentary about alleged sexual harassment (Allen). He collects checks, as well as exposes on the same platform. Dirty,” wrote Owens. Read:
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History of accusations
Dylan Farrow’s figure came into the spotlight after telling about the behavior of his father, Woody Allen. The director traumatized her for the past few years. The 35-year-old writer also admitted that he was a victim of sexual harassment from his stepfather, although Woody Allen always denied it. When interviewed by ‘Elle’ magazine, Dylan admitted that he didn’t feel like he had a father. “I don’t feel like I have a father,” she said. She also did not understand what was happening in her family. Woody Allen left his ex-wife, Mia Farrow, to live with his continued daughter, Soon-Yi Previn (now 50 years) who was 21 years old at the time and married him. Not only that, he often caught the two of them in a relationship when Woody was still with Mia. “There is no support in the family where the daughter marries her father. Then will she become my brother-in-law? Or my sister is now my stepmother? I have to make jokes about this,” he said. Since 2017, Woody Allen has been accused of sexually abusing his daughter, Dylan Farrow. This was revealed after the New York Times published an open letter from Dylan written in 2014. Woody Allen has always denied this. But unfortunately, in court, Woody Allen was not found guilty and there was not enough evidence to make him a suspect. According to Dylan, he had struggled so hard so that his voice could be heard by many people even though he realized it was not easy to fight Woody Allen. “I was just a kid at the time. And it was an easy thing for a white man with power, wealth, and respect to turn the facts around for 20 years and blame my mother,” she said. Meanwhile, Dylan Farrow herself already published a fiction coming of age novel titled ‘Hush’ in September 2020. This incident also motivated several actresses to boycott Woody Allen’s film. One of them is Kate Winslet, who feels sorry to have worked with the 85-year-old director. “I shouldn’t have collaborated with Woody or Roman and this will probably make me always feel sorry,” The British actress said as quoted by The Sun. Read: Is ‘Beartown’ Based On A True Story? Plot And Details Explained