On Monday, Drew Barrymore welcomed Dylan Farrow for a sit-down interview to discuss her new YA novel Hush, managing the lasting effects of trauma, and the recent HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow, which inspired the host to reflect on her own relationship with the legacy of Woody Allen, the director whom Farrow has long maintained molested her as a child. Recalls Barrymore, she was just one of many fans and colleagues who were “basically gaslit” about the allegations against Allen, which he has steadfastly denied since Farrow first made them in 1992.
“I worked with Woody Allen,” explains Barrymore. “I did a film with him in 1996 called Everyone Says I Love You, and there was no higher career calling card than to work with Woody Allen. Then I had children, and it changed me because I realized that I was one of the people who was basically gaslit into not looking at a narrative beyond what I was being told, and I see what is happening in the industry now, and that is because of you making that brave choice. So, thank you for that.”
“Hearing what you just said, I’m trying not to cry right now,” replied Farrow. “It’s just so meaningful because it’s easy for me to say, ‘Of course you shouldn’t work with him; he’s a jerk, he’s a monster,’ but I just find it incredibly brave and incredibly generous that you would say to me that my story, and what I went through, was important enough to you to reconsider that.”
The pair went on to discuss Allen v. Farrow, which Dylan says helped open up a conversation about her alleged sexual assault with her siblings, some of whom she was “shocked” agreed to take part in the docuseries, including brother Fletcher Previn. “The documentary has lead to greater communication between us, as a result, I think, which is interesting,” she says. “We wouldn’t talk about it to each other, so talking about it publicly, it just seemed absolutely incomprehensible.”
And as for those siblings who opted out of appearing in the project from filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, Farrow says she understands. “Gradually, more and more of my siblings signed on, and a few of them didn’t,” she says. “I’ve spoken to them about that, too, and I respect that decision as well.”