Woody Allen and his daughter: About the doc ‘Allen vs. Farrow’

Woody Allen’s relationship with his adopted daughter has been public knowledge for quite some time now. Although Allen’s affair with his adopted daughter Soon-Yi raised eyebrows, it didn’t derail his career as an acclaimed director. However, a new HBO Max documentary is shedding some disturbing light on what went down when Woody Allen was married to actress Mia Farrow. 

The documentary, Allen vs. Farrow, delves into different allegations. Dylan Farrow, Mia’s adoptive daughter, accused Woody Allen of molesting her when she was seven during her parents’ divorce in 1992. Allen vehemently denies these claims and accused Mia of coaching their daughter to say that. 

However, the new docuseries, filmed in secret, may provide new evidence about the case. The Daily Mail got the inside scoop on harrowing new footage coming to light in Allen vs Farrow about Woody Allen’s daughter, Dylan. Let’s take a look. 

Woody Allen & Mia Farrow

She was an A-list actress and the star of the seminal 60s horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. He was the breakout director of Annie Hall. When Woody Allen & Mia Farrow got married in 1979, they seemed like a typical Hollywood power couple. They also had staying power, a rarity in an industry notorious for producing short-lived couples, as they stayed together for thirteen years. 

According to HBO’s new documentary Allen vs. Farrow, that changed when Mia Farrow strumbled upon photos of Allen & their adopted daughter, Soon-Yi in 1992. Allen was fifty-five and Soon-Yi was twenty-one when Farrow discovered the pictures, the documentary alleged the affair had been going on since Woody Allen’s daughter was in high school. 

The documentary will also delve into testimony from Woody Allen’s doorman, who told the court Soon-Yi would visit Allen on her lunch breaks from school. Allen’s maid also claimed she would clean up used condoms after Allen’s daughter visited. To this day, Woody Allen & Soon-Yi are married. 

Dylan Farrow’s allegations

According to the new documentary, Woody Allen told Mia Farrow he wanted to adopt a “cute, blond girl” to be their daughter. They adopted Dylan from Texas in 1985. In the docuseries, Dyal Farrow recalled how after her brother Ronan’s birth, she was made to feel like Woody Allen’s daughter exclusively, “very slowly instilling the idea in my head she [Mia] was more [Ronan’s] parent, he was more my parent, I was daddy’s girl”. 

Dylan Farrow also recalled how she remembered disturbing incidents with Woody Allen as a child, including Woody Allen cuddling with his daughter in their underwear. Mia Farrow also recounted the incident, saying in Allen vs Farrow: “I would suddenly walk in and there she would be in his bed with him in his underwear.” 

“I remember sitting on the steps with him in the country house. There was nobody else around, and he was directing me on how to suck his thumb – telling me what to do with my tongue, and I think that lasted a while. It felt like a long time.” 

Her family recalled she would pretend to be a dead animal when he came home. Her sister recalled an incident where Woody Allen was applying sunscreen to his daughter’s back and claimed she recalled: “(His hand) suggestively went between her buttock cheeks with his finger and then came back. Mia saw it too and snatched the sunscreen away.” 

Going to court

After a disturbing incident where a babysitter claimed to have witnessed Woody Allex sexually abusing his daughter, Mia Farrow asked Dylan about it and videotaped their conversation. The videotapes will be aired in the Allen vs Farrow documentary. 

Mia Farrow took Dylan to a pediatrician who then notified the police. Although prosecutors claimed they had evidence to charge Woody Allen with first & fourth-degree sexual assault, New York prosecutors decided not to move forward with the case. When Woody Allen challenged Mia Farrow for custody of their daughter & son, a judge ruled against him. 

Although Woody Allen was never prosecuted, the allegations that Allen molested his daughter came to light twice. Once in 2014, after The Golden Globes celebrated Allen’s long illustrious career, his son Ronan Farrow tweeted about the allegations. In 2017, the allegations came to light again as part of the #MeToo movement. Afterward, Allen ended up losing distribution deals for his films as well as book contracts. 

Woody Allen’s response

In 2019, Soon-Yi spoke to New York Magazine, accusing Mia Farrow of physical abuse & corporal punishment, including hitting her with a hairbrush and saying she should be in a mental asylum. Soon-Yi described her marriage to Woody Allen as “a betrayal”, but alleged that Farrow “has taken advantage of the MeToo movement and paraded Dylan as a victim. And a whole new generation is hearing about it when they shouldn’t.” 

In Woody Allen’s unpublished memoir, he addressed the allegations. “I never laid a finger on Dylan, never did anything to her that could be even misconstrued as abusing her; it was a total fabrication from start to finish, every subatomic particle of it.” His memoir was unpublished after his publisher canceled his book following a walk-out from staff in protest. 

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Allen vs Farrow will premiere on HBO on Sunday, February 21st at 9:00 pm EST.