Woody Allen gives rare interview that aired after ‘Allen v. Farrow’ documentary series release

Film director Woody Allen gave a rare interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” that aired Sunday following the release of the “Allen v. Farrow” HBO documentary series. 

The interview, which was filmed in July 2020 but did not air until Sunday on Paramount+, features Allen, 85, addressing the sexual abuse allegations against him by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. CBS said it was the director’s first in-depth, on-camera American interview in almost three decades. 

Allen, who has never been charged with any crimes, proclaimed his innocence and denied the accusations in the interview while acknowledging that he thinks Farrow “believes” she’s speaking the truth. 

“I believe she thinks it,” Allen said of Farrow’s allegations, according to USA Today and Deadline. “She was a good kid. I do not believe that she’s making it up. I don’t believe she’s lying. I believe she believes that.” 

“It’s so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained,” he added. “And they still prefer to cling to, if not the notion that I molested Dylan, the possibility that I molested her. Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that.” 

The film director said he would like to talk to Farrow but has not since she came forward with her allegations. 

“There was no logic to it, on the face of it,” he said. “Why would a guy who’s 57 years old and never accused of anything in my life — I’m suddenly going to drive up in the middle of a contentious custody fight at Mia’s country home [with] a 7-year-old girl. It just, on the surface, I didn’t think it required any investigation, even.” 

The film director and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, discredited the docuseries “Allen v. Farrow,” calling it “a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods,” according to Variety. 

Allen also discussed his relationship with his wife, who was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and her ex-husband André Previn, has been married to Allen for 23 years. Mia Farrow ended her relationship with Allen after discovering he and the 21-year-old Soon-Yi Previn had a relationship.

“The last thing in the world that anybody wanted was to hurt anybody’s feelings,” Allen told “CBS Sunday Morning.” “What we wanted to do was to eventually make it known that we had a relationship.” 

When asked if he had ever considered the relationship as inappropriate, Allen answered, “No,” adding that there was “never a moment that it wasn’t the most natural thing in the world. … It didn’t give me pause, because the relationship with Soon-Yi was very gradual.”

“It wasn’t like I went out with her one night and kissed her,” he added. 

Allen and Previn raised two adopted daughters, who are now in college.