Critics Say Amazon Ignored Woody Allen's Sexual Assault Past When It Hired Him For New TV Series
After making his mark in the films, director Woody Allen will now explore the world of television. The 79-year-old has been roped in by Amazon to work on "Untitled Woody Allen Project," a half-hour comedy series. The critics, however, are not happy that Allen has bagged this project, as Amazon's announcement comes less than a year after his daughter, Dylan Farrow, claimed that her father sexually abused her as a child. Amazon is reportedly facing backlash for offering the project to Allen.
In Amazon Media's press statement, Roy Price, vice president at Amazon Studios, called Allen "a visionary creator" and said it was an honour to be working with him on his first television series. Allen's first TV series will be exclusively shown on Prime Instant Video in 2016 in U.S., U.K. and Germany. Details of the project have not been revealed and Allen is not very sure about it either. "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this," Allen said.
The media is not happy that the director has been "forgiven" despite the sexual assault allegations. "Not even a year after sexual abuse allegations against Woody Allen turned the star into a pariah, he's back on top with a lucrative TV deal. Why do we continue to ignore predators?" asks The Daily Beast writer, Kevin Fallon, in an article titled "Hollywood Forgives Woody Allen. Dammit." He calls Amazon's deal with Allen as "freaking depressing" and said that the news confirms that all is forgiven "at least in Tinseltown." He also said that the media giant has chosen "to plug their ears" on Allen's controversial past.
Ellen Killoran, a contributor to Forbes, too, feels that Amazon's decision to rope in Allen for the TV series "strikes a dissonant note." The writer believes that Amazon ignored the the director's "controversial past," as they wanted to do business with him. The writer also feels the allegations have not affected Allen's career. Allen's daughter Farrow wrote an essay in NY Times in February 2014 where she accused Allen of sexually assaulting her when she was 7-years-old.
To contact writer, email: n.tewari@ibtimes.com.au