Bill Maher defends Woody Allen and condemns actors who refuse to work with the director
Comedian Bill Maher has come to the defence of director Woody Allen following the allegations of sexual misconduct that have been aimed at the filmmaker over recent years.
Katie Couric recently featured on Maher’s Club Random podcast and the topic of discussion turned to cancelled Hollywood figures. Maher responded to Dylan Farrow’s allegation of molestation against Allen, claiming, “I don’t think he committed that crime.”
“There [were] two police investigations that exonerated him,” Maher added. He went on to speak about the actors who refused to work with Allen and the others who have previously starred in his movies but have since expressed regret over them.
“What a bunch of pussies,” Maher said, before vehemently defending Allen by stating, “First of all, it’s a very improbable crime that they’re accusing him of. Plainly, the other party had motivation and [was] vindictive.”
In the documentary Allen v. Farrow, the allegations were assessed. However, Maher felt that the HBO production seemed to all stem from Farrow’s perspective and, therefore, ought not to be trusted as an unbiased account of what occurred between Allen and his adopted daughter.
Maher simply “flat-out believes” Allen, noting, “I believe a 57-year-old man didn’t suddenly become a child molester in the middle of a divorce proceeding and a custody battle in a house full of adults in broad daylight.”
In the conversation, Couric highlighted the “pretty damning” evidence against Allen when it comes to Farrow’s allegation, noting the belief that the director liked his partners to “dress up in little anklets and Mary Janes and baby doll dresses.”
However, Maher asked whether Allen is the only person to like such a kind of dress. “Do you think he’s the first guy who wanted his girlfriend to dress in anklets and baby doll [dresses],” the comedian said. “That’s what we grew up on, that’s what we find sexy… that doesn’t make you a pervert.”
Maher proceeded to lay down his claim that he found Allen’s molestation of Farrow “very improbable” and that Allen should not become a “social pariah”. According to Maher, he finds that the online world thinks that it “just feels right” that Allen has done wrong without any evidence. However, he signed off on the matter, conceding that “anything is possible” when it comes to Allen’s prospective guilt.
It was in 1992 that Allen’s former partner, Mia Farrow, first accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter Dylan, although the director was never charged or prosecuted and has since denied the allegation. Since then, several actors have refused to work with Allen, and others have expressed their regrets about having worked with him previously.
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