Woody Allen’s wife, Soon-Yi Previn, called Timothée Chalamet a “prick” in Epstein files after he donated ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ fee to charity
The latest files released by the Department of Justice in relation to Jeffrey Epstein include an email by Woody Allen’s wife, Soon-Yi Previn, criticising Timothée Chalamet after he donated his fee for A Rainy Day in New York to charity.
In 2018, Chalamet announced his decision to donate his fee from the film, directed by Woody Allen, to Time’s Up, the LGBT Centre in New York, and Rainn (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).
At the time, Chalamet, who was then aged 22, said in an Instagram post that he was “not able to answer the question directly because of contractual obligations” in regards to why he agreed to work with Allen, but said, “I don’t want to profit from my work on the film.”
Chalamet’s decision to distance himself from A Rainy Day in New York came weeks after historical sexual abuse allegations resurfaced against Allen in a Los Angeles Times op-ed by Dylan Farrow, titled ‘Why has the #MeToo revolution spared Woody Allen?’
Now, an alleged email sent from Soon-Yi Previn to a redacted email address, dated July 27th, 2018, has surfaced in the recently released Epstein files from the Department of Justice.
The email is titled, ‘NYTimes: Review: ‘Hot Summer Nights’ Is Trite, Sexist Opportunism’, and is a link to a negative review in the New York Times of Hot Summer Nights, Elijah Bynum’s 2018 movie starring Chalamet.
In the email, Previn is attributed to have written, “I’m glad that prick Chalamet’s movie did not get a good review. No I’m not vindictive. :-)”.
During an appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast in 2025, Allen reflected on Chalamet and Greta Gerwig expressing regret about working with him, stating, “They are making a mistake. First of all, I had a good time working with both of them, and they think that they’re doing something honourable or helpful, but they’re not.”
He also said that both stars “made a wrong decision” by denouncing him.
Allen previously claimed in his 2020 memoirs, Apropos of Nothing, that Chalamet’s decision to give his money away was influenced by his bid to secure an Oscar victory for Call Me By Your Name.
The director wrote in the book, “Timothée afterward publicly stated he regretted working with me and was giving the money to charity, but he swore to my sister he needed to do that as he was up for an Oscar for Call Me by Your Name, and he and his agent felt he had a better chance of winning if he denounced me, so he did.”
Chalamet’s A Rainy Day in New York co-stars Selena Gomez, Rebecca Hall, and Griffin Newman also donated their fees to charity.
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