More actors are speaking out, both defending and regretting, their work with Woody Allen, following the resurfacing of his sexual assault allegations.
Late Monday night, Timothée Chalamet posted a message on his Instagram account stating that, in light of the allegations made against the 82-year-old filmmaker, he would donate his earnings from the upcoming Allen film “A Rainy Day in New York,” to the nonprofits Time’s Up, the LGBT Center in New York and RAINN.
“I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with brave artists who are fighting for all people to be treated with respect and dignity they deserve,” Chalamet, 22, wrote in the message.
Allen has again come under harsh criticism following the influx of sexual harassment and assault stories that have come out of the entertainment industry, following the reports Harvey Weinstein’s previously undisclosed allegations against women.
Allen’s 32-year-old daughter Dylan Farrow, who accused Allen of sexually assaulting her back in 1993, wrote an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times last month where she brought up the allegations and chastised actors and studios for continuing to work with him. The director has denied the allegations.
Since that Op-Ed ran, Allen’s former cast members Greta Gerwig and Rebecca Hall have both expressed regret for working with him. Hall announced she would donate money made from “A Rainy Day in New York” to the Time’s Up initiative.
There are still some Hollywood members who are standing by Allen. Alec Baldwin tweeted his support Tuesday contending that the director hasn’t been convicted of sexual assault crimes.
“Woody Allen was investigated forensically by two states (NY and CT) and no charges were filed. The renunciation of him and his work, no doubt, has some purpose,” he tweeted. “But it’s unfair and sad to me. I worked [with Woody Allen] 3 times and it was one of the privileges of my career.”
Paul Levinson, a professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University, said while Allen’s allegations are causing a lot of actors and producers to rethink their choices and earnings, there has been very little action so far from studios and producers.
“It’s a complex algorithm,” he said. “He still is considered to be one of the top directors . . . At the same time I can’t see Woody Allen starting a Kickstarter and get new movies that way.”
