In her first public comment since Dylan Farrow launched a fresh accusation of the molestation she says she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen when she was 7, Cate Blanchett, who stars in Allen’s Blue Jasmine, said, “It’s obviously been a long and painful situation for the family and I hope they find some resolution and peace.”
ANALYSIS: Dylan Farrow’s Op-Ed Targets Woody Allen But Could Hurt Cate Blanchett More
Blanchett, who is nominated for the best actress Oscar for her performance as a society wife who’s down on her luck, was at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Saturday evening where she was given the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award. Although the explosive molestation charges were not mentioned during the question-and-answer session that was part of the tribute, on the way into the afterparty, Blanchett was asked to comment on the latest development in the long-running case by Jeffrey Wells, who runs Hollywood-Elsewhere.com. Blanchett made the brief remarks as she was ushered into the party.
Earlier in the day, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, a friend of the Farrow family, published a column about Dylan Farrow, now 28, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Allen, and her claim that Allen molested her when she was 7. Kristof noted that Allen has denied the allegations, has never been convicted of any crime and should be presumed innocent. But he also wrote that awards like the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award that was recently given to Allen sent the message that Hollywood was “in effect accusing Dylan either of lying or of not mattering.”
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Along with the column, Kristof posted a letter from Dylan, in which she also challenged the honors that Hollywood has bestowed on Allen, writing that other victims of molestation are still “scared, vulnerable, and struggling for the courage to tell the truth. The message that Hollywood sends matters for them.”
She then went on to challenge a number of the actors who have worked in Allen’s films, writing, “What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett? Louis CK? Alec Baldwin? What if it had been you, Emma Stone? Or you, Scarlett Johansson? You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me?”
