Already have an account?
Get back to the

Woody Allen’s Lawyer: Mia Farrow Made Dylan Farrow Her “Pawn,” “Implanted” Memories

Woody Allen’s Lawyer: Mia Farrow Made Dylan Farrow Her “Pawn,” “Implanted” Memories
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow Snap/Shutterstock

Could Dylan Farrow‘s bombshell New York Times essay, in which she claimed her adopted father Woody Allen sexually assaulted her at age 7, really be a revenge tactic from a scorned ex? That’s what the 78-year-old filmmaker’s lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz, claims.

Abramowitz appeared on The Today Show on Tuesday, Feb. 4 to defend his client, speaking for the elusive New Yorker.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity scandals and meltdowns in 2013

“[Woody’s] reaction is one of overwhelming sadness because of what has happened to Dylan,” Abramowitz revealed. “She was a pawn in a huge fight between him and Mia Farrow years ago, and the idea that she was molested was implanted in her by her mother and that memory is never going to go away. The fact that she says this now, that it happened 20 years ago is totally understandable.”

Related: PHOTOS: Famous family feuds

The lawyer made it clear that he does not blame Allen’s adopted daughter for her shocking allegations, and fully accepts her reasoning.

“In my view, she’s not lying, she truly believes this happened,” Abramowitz continued. “When you implant this story in a fragile 7-year-old’s mind, it stays there forever. It never goes away.”

Woody Allen’s Lawyer: Mia Farrow Made Dylan Farrow Her “Pawn,” “Implanted” Memories
Woody Allen’s wife Soon-Yi was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Andre Previn. Henry Lamb/Photowire/BEI/Shutterstock

The lawyer thinks many critics of the Blue Jasmine director are holding onto his controversial romantic history — specifically his relationship with wife Soon-Yi.

“I think that a lot of the confusion about the case relates to how the relationship with Soon-Yi evolved,” Abramowitz said of Allen’s wife of more than 16 years. “Soon-Yi was not Allen’s daughter. She was Mia Farrow and Andre Previn’s daughter. Too many people believed that Soon-Yi was his daughter, and he was having a relationship with his adopted daughter. That is just not true. It never was true.”

Related: PHOTOS: Famous celeb dads and daughters

The lawyer made it clear that his client has no plans to follow up Dylan Farrow’s scandalous essay with any sort of additional case after the original abuse case was dismissed in 1993.

“Woody Allen is not interested in suing anybody for defamation,” Abramowitz assured host Savannah Guthrie. “He was determined not to have molested his daughter 20 years ago. The case is over. There is no case. The fact that it’s being brought up now is suspect. The timing’s suspect. I think that it’s a continuation of Mia Farrow’s desire to hurt Woody Allen. Woody Allen is now riding fairly high. He got the Golden Globe award for Lifetime Achievement which he deserved, and I believe it revived the anger she has toward him.”

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!