An Open Letter from Dylan Farrow- Page 4

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 6:45pm

Allen's response on CNN:

The statement released by Allen representative Leslee Dart said: "Mr. Allen has read the article and found it untrue and disgraceful. He will be responding very soon. In the meantime, it is essential that your coverage make the following facts clear:

"At the time, a thorough investigation was conducted by court appointed independent experts. The experts concluded there was no credible evidence of molestation; that Dylan Farrow had an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality; and that Dylan Farrow had likely been coached by her mother Mia Farrow. No charges were ever filed."


CNN Updated On: 2/2/14 at 06:45 PM

[theatreguy]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 7:13pm

Wow. This is going to get ugly. And nobody's going to win.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 8:35pm

Mia Farrow is going to win because Woody Allen is going to lose. And let's not pretend this isn't that fight, because it is, and it's going on and on.

The way I look at Dylan's open letter leads me to three possible conclusions:

1) What she claims is true and she is naming her experience;
2) What she claims is what she has come to believe is true and is naming what she believes to be true;
3) What she claims is a lie and she knows she's lying.

I can't ever know. It doesn't matter if "I feel" she is telling the truth or that she is lying. Fortunately, in American justice, there is not currently a number where we can text our votes on whether Allen is guilty or not, because the court of public opinion isn't a real court. And yet so many people feel "informed" enough to hold court on the topic.

I believe the Farrows are campaigning.

The Daily Beast: Not so fast

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:00pm

The victim blaming has got to end. This is why victims of sexual abuse do not come forward-look at how they're treated, especially when their rapist is a rich white man with a lot of power.

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:04pm

"Mia Farrow is going to win because Woody Allen is going to lose. And let's not pretend this isn't that fight, because it is, and it's going on and on."

Or maybe it's the fight of a sexual abuse victim who has been shamed and ignored for 20 years?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:09pm

"I believe the Farrows are campaigning."

Doesn't that mean that you think you're informed enough to maintain that theory?

What are they campaigning for? Do you truly believe the Farrows have been playing a long grift for the past twenty years?

I don't see how anyone is going to win here. Regardless of why Dylan wrote the letter, she is a woman in pain. I don't see your third conclusion as being very likely. Why would Dylan drop out of sight, change her name and say nothing for years, only to undo all that for some kind of calculated campaign?

I don't see how any "victory" can be anything but pyrrhic. The clearly biased Daily Beast article you linked to (which rather nastily divulged Dylan's new name) was posted by DAME on page one of this thread, and has been discussed here. Some think that that article may be the reason Dylan felt the need to write her letter.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:09pm

Except not really. Ignored means IGNORED. Not heard by ANYONE. The custody battle was fought publicly and the investigation in to the charges was very thorough, and Dylan was definitely heard by the authorities at the time. They did not find reason to believe that she was telling the truth. There was NO physical evidence that she had been victimized.

So here's the question, what does one DO with statements made by the grown up version of a child who was deemed emotionally disturbed at the time and who might have been coached by her furious mother?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:13pm

Ghost, you know what they say about hell and a woman scorned.

And no, I don't claim to know what happened. But I am reminded of the stink of the pre-school allegations that ruined a family and the kids who maintain strenuously that they were abused. I do think people get stuck in their stories and believe them to be absolutely true.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:23pm

" Regardless of why Dylan wrote the letter, she is a woman in pain."

Not if the abuse didn't happen and she was coached by her mother.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:29pm

How can Allen really lose at this point? He's become an iconic part of the last half-century of popular culture. His works are ingrained in the public conscious. He's lauded and acclaimed, with awards and honors. They won't be revoked and people will still love Annie Hall.

[bobs3]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:29pm

I just find it strange that over 20 years after the fact, the Farrow (Mia, Ronan, Dylan) family seems to be reliving the allegations at a time when Woody Allen has just been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, has an Oscar-nominated movie, and an upcoming Broadway musical that looks like a sure-fire hit. Maybe I am cynical but perhaps the generous child support ran out and they are looking for some vengeance. By the way, Woody's adopted son Moses has reconciled with his father and Soon-Yi and claims he was brainwashed by his mother.

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned. Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
William Congreve "The Mourning Bride"

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:34pm

Well I'm glad that Dylan shared her story and I hope that this will be the end of Hollywood pretending that Woody Allen is a good guy worthy of Lifetime Achievement awards. Cate Blanchett should be ashamed of herself and I hope she'll lose the Oscar because of this.

The fact that so many on here are so ready to dismiss Dylan's letter really makes me sad.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:38pm

I am not dismissing her letter. I believe she believes the story to be true.

However, that does not mean the story is true.

Interesting fact mentioned in the article I linked, is at the time of the custody battle, Woody passed a lie detector test and Mia Farrow refused to do one.

[bobs3]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:41pm

I have a feeling that these press reports will turn into an eventual backlash against the Farrows and Woody Allen will come out the winner.

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:42pm

Honest question not meant to be seen as combative: why does everyone assume that Mia would coach her daughter to believe that she was sexually abused? Who would want their child to experience that pain?

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:45pm

what pain?

Meaning that if Mia put together this letter for Dylan to submit, she wouldn't be suffering the pain of being abused.

Updated On: 2/2/14 at 09:45 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:46pm

When I was a young reporter I was covering a custody battle between a woman who had taken off with her daughter rather than let her ex-husband see her. Suddenly there were allegations of child abuse. I believe the girl was around five or six. Turns out the woman actually went underground and at a support rally there were signs that said, "Why would Nicole lie?" Nicole being the daughter.

Well, because break-ups can be horribly messy things and partners do horrible vindictive acts to exact revenge. "Encouraging" a child to tell the truth about what spouse b did to him or her is really not all that uncommon. Every once in a while, what the child is encouraged to say actually happened.

Updated On: 2/2/14 at 09:46 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:50pm

It's not that uncommon an accusation.

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:53pm

Is that what should be automatically assumed when it comes to sexual abuse? That the victim could be making it up?

Am I being foolish believing the victim first and foremost?

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:54pm

"what pain?

Meaning that if Mia put together this letter for Dylan to submit, she wouldn't be suffering the pain of being abused."

well if people are saying Mia has been coaching Dylan since the initial allegations, why would Mia want her daughter believing that she was a victim of sexual abuse? even if it didn't happen it seems cruel that a mother would want her daughter to feel that pain, even if it is "made up"

[bobs3]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 9:55pm

"Cate Blanchett should be ashamed of herself and I hope she'll lose the Oscar because of this."

So you actually think that an actress who has given the most critically ACCLAIMED and lauded performance of the year (maybe in years) should NOT win the Oscar because she was directed to that performance by Woody Allen?

I fail to understand your logic.

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 10:00pm

I don't think that any film that has anything to do with Woody should be celebrated if Dylan's accusations are true. Doing so is a slap in the face to Dylan. And Cate's statment that she released today was sickening. She cares more about an award than a victim's well being.

Not that I expect anything from Hollywood-the same industry that celebrates someone like Roman Polanski (who Mia Farrow supports-which I side eye her for) or David O. Russel, among many other creeps.

Updated On: 2/2/14 at 10:00 PM

[larrystyles]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 10:03pm

Not to mention Cate's comment about Judy Garland at the Golden Globe's which I thought was tasteless.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 10:03pm

well if people are saying Mia has been coaching Dylan since the initial allegations, why would Mia want her daughter believing that she was a victim of sexual abuse? even if it didn't happen it seems cruel that a mother would want her daughter to feel that pain, even if it is "made up"

bobs, I don't think we're clear on this. The motive of the letter would NOT be to make Dylan think she was abused. The point would be that Dylan would be part of Mia's plan for revenge.

IF THAT"S THE CASE

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 10:04pm

"..if Dylan's accusations are true."

At the time of the accusations, the investigators spent a long time looking at this and decided they were not.

And let's be honest, you really seem to want them to be true so that nobody will like Woody Allen.