What does Moses Farrow think of the docuseries ‘Allen v Farrow’?

The new HBO docuseries, Allen v. Farrow, has been a hot topic lately. The series details Woody Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow’s assault allegations against Allen. But one of Allen’s adoptive children, Moses Farrow, who has stood by Allen amidst allegations, is notably absent from the show. So what does Farrow think of the new doc?

Who is Moses Farrow?

Moses Farrow was adopted by Mia Farrow from South Korea when he was two years old. He was Farrow’s seventh child, three of whom were also adopted. Woody Allen acted as a father figure to Farrow, as Mia Farrow and her husband, André Previn, had recently divorced. As a result, Allen legally adopted Farrow.

When Dylan Farrow first publicly accused Allen of sexual abuse, Moses Farrow initially turned against his adoptive father. In 1993, he read a public letter to the court: “You [Allen] have done a horrible, unforgivable, needly, ugly, stupid thing. If you bring us to court . . . I hope you get so humiliated that you commit suicide.”

He added: “I do know that you can’t force me to live with you. I just want you to know I don’t consider you my father anymore. It was a great feeling having a father, but you smashed that feeling.” In his famous blog post in 2018, he called this letter the “biggest regret of his life”.

Moses v. Mia

Recently, however, Moses Farrow has changed his sentiments toward Woody Allen, and has made it his mission to expose Mia Farrow for her alleged abuse against him and her other children.

In a blog post, he called Dylan Farrow’s accusations “ridiculous,” explaining: “there was no electric train set in that attic,” (a train set had been a large feature of Dylan Farrow’s allegations against Allen). Farrow continued: “There was, in fact, no way for kids to play up there, even if we had wanted to.”

Farrow continued, writing that there was abuse in the Farrow/Allen household, but it didn’t come from Allen. He wrote that Mia Farrow was abusive to her children and that she “brainwashed them.” He explained: “I had a disability and emotional sensitivities, and that lent itself to being a target.” Soon-Yi Previn later backed up these claims.

The after effects 

When asked by The Guardian how the tumultuous childhood he had alleged affected him, Moses Farrow explained: “There’s a lot to answer to that! I’ve experienced suicidal thoughts, I’ve been in therapy for depression, I’ve certainly struggled with relationships and poor self-esteem, being a people pleaser and needing to be the perfect son.”

He continued: “The trauma in adoption comes from feeling like there’s something wrong with us because we were rejected [by both our parents.] I felt inherently like I was a bad kid. And then the abuse at home reinforced that. Now forty-three, Moses Farrow works in Connecticut as a therapist specializing in adoption trauma therapy. 

Allen v Farrow

The new docuseries Allen v Farrow tells the story of the allegations largely from Dylan Farrow & Mia Farrow’s perspective. In the first episode, Dylan Farrow explains: “I’ve been subjected to every kind of doubt, scrutiny, and humiliation over this . . . in the last twenty years, [Woody Allen] was able to just run amok while I was coping with this through sleepless nights and panic attacks.”

She recalled looking up to her adoptive father from a very young age. “I mean, I worshipped him,” she explained. “He was so funny, and he made me feel so special.” She also explained how their relationship distorted the way she looked at a father-daughter relationship. She recalled going to other girls’ houses and being surprised that their dads “weren’t in the room, hovering”.