October 16, 2017
American filmmaker Woody Allen says he is "sad" for Harvey
Weinstein's "messed up" life as the producer faces numerous allegations of
sexual assault.
The filmmaker said he had heard rumours but not "these
horror stories" after a number of women came forward to accuse Weinstein of
assault, reports bbc.com.
Weinstein was voted off the board behind the
Oscars on Saturday as a result of the allegations.
Allen faced his own
sex claims; accused of molesting his adopted daughter - a claim he has always
denied.
Weinstein has been credited with reviving Allen's career after
the director was accused of abusing Dylan Farrow, his daughter with actress Mia
Farrow.
But despite working with Weinstein on a number of films,
including the Oscar-winning "Mighty Aphrodite", Allen said he had never heard of
any allegations of rape and sexual assault.
"No one ever came to me or
told me horror stories with any real seriousness," Allen told bbc.com.
"And they wouldn't, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in
making your movie. But you do hear a million fanciful rumours all the time. And
some turn out to be true and some - many - are just stories about this actress,
or that actor."
"The whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for
everybody involved," he added.
"Tragic for the poor women that were
involved, sad for Harvey that (his) life is so messed up."
There are no
winners in that, he said.
Allen said he hoped the revelations, which
emerged after an investigation by the New York Times, would lead to "some
amelioration", but said: "You also don't want it to lead to a witch hunt
atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a
woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself. That's not right
either.
"But sure, you hope that something like this could be transformed
into a benefit for people rather than just a sad or tragic situation."
Among those who investigated Weinstein were Allen's own son, Ronan Farrow, who
spoke to 13 women who said the producer had sexually harassed or assaulted them.
Weinstein, 65, insists any sexual contacts he had were consensual.