By Anna Gombert
Woody Allen was never convicted of sexual assault. However, that does not mean he is not a disgusting man who should have been allowed on campus.
You are probably aware that Woody Allen was on campus earlier this week to film his new movie with stars such as Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Diego Luna and Selena Gomez. There has been quite a bit of controversy about his presence on campus, including student protests, as there should be.
Woody Allen was accused of sexual misconduct with his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was just seven years old. The case did not go to trial, however. That is because Mia Farrow, Allen’s partner at the time, did not want to put her seven year-old daughter through the emotional stress of going through a trial. However, there was enough evidence for Farrow to get full custody of the children, as Allen was deemed a danger to Dylan.
His presence on campus has caused discomfort to many students, as well as anger, as could be seen by the protests on campus. It is a slap in the face to survivors to have Woody Allen on campus right after the emergence of all the Harvey Weinstein allegations. The media has been flooded with stories of sexual assault and harassment, and to have a man here who has been accused of some of the same things is extremely triggering.
I would also like to mention that he had an affair with his adopted daughter, who he eventually married. Though she was of legal age when the affair took place, the age difference is still cringe-worthy, and he was in a position of power over this young woman when the relationship started. Even though he has not been convicted of sexual abuse, this behavior in relation to his adopted daughter should be enough to keep him away from all young women.
What makes the whole situation even worse is that Allen released a statement to BBC about the Weinstein scandal, stating, “You also don’t want it to lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself.” The statement came out on Sunday night, in the middle of his filming on campus.
This statement is problematic for so many reasons. First of all, a witch hunt? You are really gonna use a reference to the literal senseless murder of women to talk about men being held accountable for their shitty actions? Secondly, men should not be winking at women in the workplace anyways. It’s creepy and makes women feel uncomfortable if it is uninvited. Also, Allen is more worried about what will happen to men after these women spoke out than what they have been going through for years. Yet another example of men literally not giving a shit about women and caring about preserving their disgusting actions. Weinstein is held responsible for saving Allen’s career after the sex abuse scandal with Dylan came out, so it’s honestly not surprising that he has not released a real condemnation of Weinstein’s actions.
If you still don’t really know what you think of Woody Allen, please read the open letter that Dylan Farrow wrote for the New York Times. Or if you have a hard time believing women, read the article from her brother Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker.
Anna is a sophomore English major and Art History and Women and Gender Studies double minor.
