Scarlett Johansson, one of the most famous people on earth, has finally come out and defended Woody Allen, a director whom she has worked with as an actress in three movies ( “Match Point,” “Scoop,” and “ Vicky Cristina Barcelona”).
Allen has been the subject of sexual assault allegations for close to three decades now. However, with the rise of #MeToo, these claims have come back with a vengeance. So much so that Allen has basically been been blacklisted in the industry and can no longer find work in the U.S.. In a new interview with THR, the Johansson says she, quite simply, doesn’t believe the allegations against Allen and that she firmly stands with Woody:
“I love Woody,” she said. “I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
Johansson added, “I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.”
If you remember, during the most intense period of the #MeToo movement, back in the fall of 2016, Greta Gerwig had released a statement regarding her past work with Allen in the film “To Rome With Love,” saying she deeply regretted working with the 84-year-old director. Other actors that have worked with the iconic director, including Rebecca Hall, Timothee Chalamet, Ellen Page, Griffin Newman, and David Krumholtz, have also expressed regret in working with Allen.
Chalamet, who starred is Woody Allen's “Rainy Day in New York”, even decided to donate his salary to Time's Up. “I have been asked in a few recent interviews about my decision to work on a film with Woody Allen last summer,” Timothy Chalamet said on Instagram. “What I can say is this: I don’t want to profit from my work on the film, and to that end, I am going to donate my entire salary to three charities: TIME’S UP, the LGBT Center in New York and RAINN.”
As mentioned,Allen has been scuffled in years of controversy involving Dylan Farrow, his longtime ex-partner Mia Farrow’s daughter, who has alleged that Allen molested her back in the ‘90s when she was just seven years of age..
Johansson has had an incredible year at the movies, starring in “Avengers: Endgame,” “Captain Marvel” and two upcoming/heavily-buzzed Oscar contenders (“Marriage Story,” and “Jojo Rabbit.”). Her now vocal opposition to the Robespierre-like treatment of Allen is an important endorsement of a man that seems to have been buried to the ground by a mob-mentality that refuses to take a look at that facts.