Woody Allen causes outrage after making speech about “cancel culture”
Creative CommonsWoody Allen sparked outrage for his appearance at Venice FIlm Festival to support his latest movie, where he called cancel culture “silly” and said he’s been “lucky” his whole life.
The controversial filmmaker appeared at the 80th Venice Film Festival on Monday, where his 50th movie Coupe de Chance premiered out of competition. It’s his first entirely French-language film, telling a story about the important role chance and luck play in our lives.
However, when Woody Allen arrived at the annual event, he was met with protestors who chanted “no rape culture”, following accusations made by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. As explored in the 2021 documentary series Allen v. Farrow, she alleges that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child in the early 90s.
Allen, who continues to deny the accusations, appeared on the red carpet alongside his wife Soon-Yi Previn, another adopted daughter of his ex-girlfriend and movie star Mia Farrow. His comments and presence at the event has sparked outrage online.
Woody Allen causes outrage after making speech about “cancel culture”
Ahead of the premiere, Variety spoke with Allen about the allegations, for which he’s never been formally charged, and asked if he feels like he’s been cancelled. “I just find that all so silly. I don’t think about it,” he replied.
When probed about whether there have been complaints on his sets, the filmmaker said: “I never have. I said years ago that I should have been a poster boy [for the #MeToo movement] and they got all excited about that. But the truth is, it’s true.
“I’ve made 50 films. I’ve always had very good parts for women, always had women in the crew, always paid them the exact same amount that we paid men, worked with hundreds of actresses, and never, ever had a single complaint from any of them at any point. Not a single one ever said, ‘Working with him, he was mean or he was harassing.’ That’s just not been an issue.”
During the press conference, Allen spoke about the theme of Coupe de Chance, with The Hollywood Reporter quoting him as saying: “I’ve been very, very lucky my whole life. I had two loving parents. I have good friends. I have a wonderful wife and marriage and children – and I’ve never been in the hospital. I’ve never had anything terrible happen to me.”
Allen’s comments have sparked outrage online, with commenters responding to both interviews on Twitter/X. Replying to his Variety quotes, one person wrote: “Absolutely REVOLTING that you’d even interview this predator.”
Another said, “I know the perfect place for him to spend his retirement,” while sharing a stock image of a row of prison cells.
As for his speech about being “lucky” his whole life, one said: “Exactly! They never arrested you!” A second wrote, “Of course you were, you’ve never been arrested and forgot in the jail,” while a third added: “Lucky he’s not in prison.”
Elsewhere on Twitter/X, commenters expressed their disdain for Allen’s presence at the event, including this person who said: “I hate the Venice Film Festival so bad cause why have I seen Woody Allen’s face 20 times today.”
“F*ck all y’all who cheered & applauded Woody Allen & Roman Polanski in Venice, & f*ck Venice Film Festival for inviting them,” wrote another. “For the whataboutism crowd, these two have overwhelmingly credible accusations, including literal admission & conviction by Polanski.”
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