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Publisher cancels Woody Allen memoir after backlash
NEW YORK, March 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A leading publisher on Friday scrapped
plans to release the autobiography of filmmaker Woody Allen, who has long
been accused of molesting his daughter, following an outcry and a staff
walkout.
Hachette’s announcement came after Allen’s son Ronan Farrow, who is
extremely critical of his father, denounced the book group over “Apropos of
Nothing,” originally scheduled to hit shelves next month.
“The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one,” a
spokeswoman for Hachette said in a statement emailed to AFP, adding it would
return all rights to the author.
Allegations that Allen molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she
was seven years old in the early 1990s have dogged the Oscar-winning
filmmaker for decades.
The 84-year-old director of “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” was cleared of the
charges, first leveled by his then-partner Mia Farrow, after two separate
months-long investigations, and has consistently denied the abuse.
But Dylan, now 34, maintains she was molested.
Hachette said on Monday its Grand Central Publishing subsidiary would
release Allen’s memoir in the United States on April 7.
It sparked an immediate backlash with high-profile investigative journalist
and best-selling author Ronan Farrow, brother of Dylan, saying on Tuesday he
would no longer work with Hachette.
Ronan has long defended Dylan, who renewed her accusations against Allen in
the wake of the #MeToo movement in early 2018.
On Thursday, dozens of employees company employees in New York staged a
walkout in protest at the decision to publish the memoir.
“We stand in solidarity with Ronan Farrow, Dylan Farrow, and survivors of
sexual assault,” the employees said in an email, Publishers Weekly reported.
The spokeswoman for Hachette said company executives had engaged in
“extensive conversations” with staff and others in the past few days.
“After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with
publication would not be feasible for HBG,” she said.
She added that the imprint does “not cancel books lightly.”
Allen did not immediately comment.
– ‘Gratitude’ –
Dylan Farrow thanked all the employees who “stood in solidarity with my
brother, myself and all victims of sexual abuse yesterday: words will never
describe the debt of gratitude I owe to you.”
“For someone who has felt alone in my story for so long, yesterday was a
profound reminder of what a difference can be made when people stand and
unite together for what’s right,” she said on Twitter.
Ronan Farrow retweeted a post by Publishers Weekly reporting Hachette’s
announcement, without comment.
Dylan had described Hachette’s decision to publish Allen’s autobiography as
“deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother whose
brave reporting, capitalized on by Hachette, gave voice to numerous survivors
of sexual assault by powerful men.”
Hachette subsidiary Little, Brown and Company published Ronan Farrow’s
best-selling account of the investigation into disgraced movie mogul Harvey
Weinstein, “Catch and Kill.”
Hachette chief executive Michael Pietsch on Tuesday defended the decision
to publish Allen’s memoir, telling The New York Times there was “a large
audience” who wanted to hear his story.
The publisher had described it as “a comprehensive account of his life,
both personal and professional.”
There has been some criticism of Hachette’s move, including by best-selling
author Stephen King.
“The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy.
It’s not him; I don’t give a damn about Mr. Allen. It’s who gets muzzled next
that worries me,” he said on Twitter.
Amazon has tagged the book a bestseller, signifying that the site has
received a large number of pre-orders.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1006 hrs