Diane Keaton takes to Twitter to defend Woody Allen

"Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him."

Diane Keaton has taken to Twitter to defend Woody Allen over ongoing sexual assault allegations.

The director’s adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow accuses him of sexually abusing her when she was seven years old.

Allen was investigated in 1992 when he was first accused by Dylan and her mother and his ex-partner, Mia Farrow, but no charges were brought against the filmmaker, who has always denied the claims.

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Keaton – who has appeared in a number of Allen’s films, most famously ‘Annie Hall’ – was brought in to replace Mia Farrow in 1993’s ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ after Farrow’s accusations came to light.

The actress took to Twitter to defend her friend, tweeting: “Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him. It might be of interest to take a look at the 60 Minute interview from 1992 and see what you think.”

She references a 1992 ’60 Minutes’ interview with Woody Allen, which is biased in the director’s favour from the start.

“It usually begins with an emotional domestic breakup – parents fighting over the kids,” the presenter says, before introducing the director.

“And then in the heat of a bitter custody battle, one party charges the other with an unspeakable and frequently unprovable crime – sexually abusing the children.

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“In some cases, no doubt, the allegations are true – in others, a weapon of revenge. It’s a story we’ve covered before on ’60 Minutes’, but this one is different because everyone knows the parents, at least from the movies.”

“A gigantic industry has been built on a total non-event,” says Allen in the clip.

“And when I say total non-event, I mean a total non-event. It wasn’t as if I tickled my daughter or something and much has been exaggerated. I’m saying nothing at all.

“I mean, I went up and played with the kids, read them stories, did my usual things, played out on the alwn and had a wonderful time with them.

“And out of this has grown lawyers and psychologists and private investigators. I’m saying it’s a multi million dollar industry that has grown out of a total non-event.”

Woody Allen presenting Diane Keaton with an award at the AFI's 45th Life Achievement Award Gala in June 2017
Woody Allen presenting Diane Keaton with an award at the AFI’s 45th Life Achievement Award Gala in June 2017

“Why would I pick this moment in my life to be a child molester?” the director continues before later saying, “[Dylan] has been coached methodically to tell the story by Mia.”

Keaton isn’t the first celebrity to tweet their support for Allen – earlier this month Alec Baldwin took a swipe at actors who had denounced the director.

Recently, Dylan Farrow gave her first TV interview about her allegations, on ‘CBS This Morning’.

She responded to claims she was ‘caught up’ in the #MeToo movement and only wanted to bring him down.

“Why shouldn’t I want to bring him down?” she said. “Why shouldn’t I be angry? Why shouldn’t I be hurt?”

She also responded to claims that she was ‘brainwashed’ by her mother to lie: “What I don’t understand is how is this crazy story of me being brainwashed and coached more believable than what I’m saying about being sexually assaulted by my father?”

This isn’t the first time a female celebrity has publicly stood by a male friend accused of sexual assault.

In November 2017, Lena Dunham received backlash after jumping to the defense of ‘Girls’ writer Murray Miller, after he was accused of rape by actress Aurora Perrineau.

“While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story,” Dunham wrote as part of a statement co-written with ‘Girls’ showrunner, Jenni Konner.

“Our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3% of assault cases that are misreported every year.”

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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