Javier Bardem defended Woody Allen over sexual assault allegations that span back years and applauded the director’s talent.
The Skyfall star spoke on a number of topics at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon on Tuesday, October 16, including whether he would collaborate with Allen again. “At the time I did Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the allegations were already well known for more than 10 years, and two states in the U.S. deemed he was not guilty,” Bardem, 49, said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “If the legal situation ever changes, then I’d change my mind. But for now I don’t agree with the public lynching that he’s been receiving, and if Woody Allen called me to work with him again I’d be there tomorrow morning. He’s a genius.”
The Oscar winner starred alongside his now-wife, Penelope Cruz, and Scarlett Johansson in the 2008 film. The Golden Globe-winning movie, for which the 44-year-old American Crime Story actress won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, was written and directed by Allen.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Bardem also noted on Tuesday that he didn’t know if Allen, 82, knew who he was due to the little amount of contact the two had while shooting the film.
The Annie Hall star has been plagued by allegations of child sexual assault for years. He was investigated but not charged over an alleged incident with his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow with ex Mia Farrow. Dylan’s claims have resurfaced in recent years.
The Alice actress gave her first TV interview earlier this year about the alleged misconduct by Allen on August 4, 1992, when she claims he took her into an attic crawl space in their Connecticut home. “He instructed me to lay down on my stomach and play with my brother’s toy train that was set up. He sat behind me in the doorway, and as I played with the toy train, I was sexually assaulted,” she said on CBS This Morning in January. “As a 7-year-old, I would have said, ‘He touched my private parts.’”
Allen has continued to deny Dylan’s accusations, to which she responded through tears: “He’s lying and he’s been lying for so long.”
The Blue Jasmine director married Mia’s adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn in 1997 after having an affair with her while he was dating the Rosemary’s Baby actress.
