Scarlett Johansson on Woody Allen: 'I Believe Him'

Actress says she loves him and 'would work with him anytime'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 4, 2019 3:41 PM CDT
Scarlett Johansson Issues Firm Defense of Woody Allen
Woody Allen, right, speaks with Scarlett Johansson on the second day's filming of his new movie in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, July 10, 2007.   (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Scarlett Johansson is passionate about women's issues, and has been active with the Time's Up organization since its early days. But when it comes to Woody Allen, widely decried by the #MeToo movement for his alleged sexual abuse of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, Johansson strongly differs. "I love Woody," she says in response to a Hollywood Reporter question about the filmmaker. "I believe him, and I would work with him anytime." Allen directed her in Match Point, Scoop, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

"I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it," she says. "I have been very direct with him, and he's very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him." Asked whether that's a dangerous opinion to express in the current cultural moment, she replied, "It's hard because it's a time where people are very fired up, and understandably. Things needed to be stirred up, and so people have a lot of passion and a lot of strong feelings and are angry, and rightfully so. It's an intense time." The Guardian notes that Michael Caine, Colin Firth, Timothée Chalamet, and Greta Gerwig are among those who have expressed regret at having worked with Allen. (More Woody Allen stories.)

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