Woody Allen's adopted daughter repeats sex abuse claim in letter

03 February 2014 - 10:03
By Sapa-dpa

Woody Allen's adopted daughter wrote publicly for the first time about her allegations that the filmmaker sexually abused her when she was 7.

In an open letter published by The New York Times online Saturday, Dylan Farrow, now 28, described how Allen led her to an attic on the second floor of their house to abuse her.

"For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn't like," she wrote.

At the time of his breakup with Dylan's mother, Mia Farrow, Allen was accused of abusing their adopted daughter. Despite a subsequent investigation by Connecticut police, Allen was never prosecuted in the more than 2-decades-old case.

In her letter, Dylan Farrow questioned Allen's acclaim in Hollywood shortly before this year's Oscars, where he is nominated for best original screenplay for his drama "Blue Jasmine," starring Cate Blanchett.

"For so long, Woody Allen's acceptance silenced me," she wrote. "It felt like a personal rebuke, like the awards and accolades were a way to tell me to shut up and go away."

The letter was published several weeks after the filmmaker, now 78, received a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes.

The New York Times said Allen declined to comment about the letter.