Rosie O’Donnell Speaks Out On Woody Allen Accusations

Rosie O’Donnell returned to “The View” on Friday morning after seven years and admitted it was strange to be back at the table. While it was a different dynamic this time around̵...
Rosie O’Donnell Speaks Out On Woody Allen Accusations
Written by Amanda Crum
  • Rosie O’Donnell returned to “The View” on Friday morning after seven years and admitted it was strange to be back at the table. While it was a different dynamic this time around–Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who famously had words with O’Donnel several times on the show, wasn’t there to cause tension–O’Donnell did have a moment of disagreement with Barbara Walters, with whom she’s already buried at least one hatchet.

    The moment came when the topic of Dylan Farrow’s accusations against adoptive father Woody Allen came up and O’Donnell, who is friends with Dylan’s mom, Mia Farrow, said she absolutely believes he sexually abused his daughter.

    “I totally believe her,” she said. “I am very good friends with Mia Farrow, like, very close friends. I have seen her as a mother. She’s the best mother I’ve ever seen…if you read the custody decision by the prosecutor, you will understand that there was cause to prosecute, but they thought it would be too traumatic for this 7-year-old child. He was not given any custody of those children. I firmly believe Dylan and I believe Mia.”

    Dylan Farrow came forward with her story earlier this month when an open letter she wrote was published by the New York Times, detailing her memories from a childhood full of alleged abuse by Allen. The letter came after Allen was honored at the Golden Globes with the Cecil B. Demille lifetime achievement award and Dylan’s brother, Ronan, tweeted in response.

    “Missed the Woody Allen tribute – did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?” he tweeted.

    Farrow told People Magazine that her intention was not to gain publicity or to steal the spotlight away from Allen during the awards season, but rather to tell the truth and possibly help others who have gone through what she has.

    “My intention in writing that piece was to put the truth on paper from a voice that was not able to speak before…people are saying that I am not actually remembering what I remember. People are saying that my ‘evil mother’ brainwashed me because they refuse to believe that my sick, evil father would ever molest me, because we live in this society where victim blaming and inexcusable behavior – this taboo against shaming the famous at the expense of their victims – is accepted and excused,” she said.

    Walters, who publicly backed Allen on “The View” recently, said that although she agrees with O’Donnell that Mia Farrow is a good mother, she has never seen Allen be anything but a doting father, and put an end to the conversation.

    “I have rarely seen a father as sensitive, as loving and as caring as Woody is and Soon-Yi to [their daughters]. I don’t know about Dylan. I can only tell you what I have seen now…she’s doing it now because he’s up for an [Oscar]. And so the question is: Does your personal life interfere with the awards that you may get?” Walters said after the letter was published.

    Image via YouTube

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