A young Dylan Farrow is seen in the 1992 video alleging Woody Allen touched her.
A young Dylan Farrow is seen in the 1992 video alleging Woody Allen touched her.
Warning: Triggering content
The second episode of the explosive Woody Allen documentary aired yesterday with disturbing never-before-seen footage.
Allen's adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, now 35, made the "terrifying" decision to hand over the home video to HBO for the doco Allen v. Farrow, a four-part series which airs Mondays on Foxtel.
Recorded by her adoptive mother Mia Farrow in 1992, the video shows a then seven-year-old Dylan claiming that the legendary filmmaker, now 85, "touched (my) privates" in an alleged incident in their attic at Mia Farrow's Connecticut home. Allen has denied all allegations of abuse.
American actor and film director Woody Allen and his partner, actress Mia Farrow, pose under an awning with their children, from left, Fletcher, Dylan, Moses, and Soon Yi. Photo / Getty Images
"And then he was breathing on my leg," a young Dylan is heard saying in the footage. "And then, he squeezed me too hard that I couldn't breathe."
Elsewhere in the clip, Mia, who split from Allen in 1992, can be heard asking: "Do you want to tell me what things Daddy said in the attic when you were in the attic?"
Dylan then says Allen told her: "Do not move, I have to do this."
"But I wiggled my bum to see what he was doing," she is heard saying in the footage. "He said, 'Don't move, I have to do this. If you stay still we can go to Paris.'"
Prior to the episode airing, Dylan took to Twitter with a lengthy note revealing the decision to air the footage was "absolutely terrifying for me" as she herself has "resisted ever watching it until now".
"It had long been stored away in a closet. Scared. Buried," she wrote.
"My fear in letting this tape come to light is that I am putting Little Dylan in the court of public opinion.
"But I decided to let them share it in hopes that Little Dylan's voice might now help others suffering in silence feel heard, understood and less alone."
Mia Farrow, left, and Dylan Farrow attend the 2016 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall. Photo / Getty Images
After Mia shot the video in 1992, she took Dylan to a paediatrician to make a record of her claims and the doctor informed The Connecticut State Police.
Child welfare services and police began investigating the alleged abuse, but Dylan was deemed an unreliable witness by a psychological report, despite prosecutors finding "probable" cause to arrest Allen for sexual assault of a minor.
No charges were ever brought against Allen, who has vehemently denied sexually assaulting his adoptive daughter and claims Mia coerced Dylan into fabricating the allegations because she was jealous of his relationship with his wife, Soon-Yi, who was Mia's adoptive daughter with another man.
Director Woody Allen in 2017. Photo / AP
"Woody and Soon-Yi were approached less than two months ago and given only a matter of days 'to respond'. Of course, they declined to do so.
"As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false. Multiple agencies investigated them at the time and found that, whatever Dylan Farrow may have been led to believe, absolutely no abuse had ever taken place."
In her lengthy note on Twitter yesterday, Dylan said she had repressed the memories of "Little Dylan" for decades as a coping mechanism.
"So part of my goal in allowing her now to speak is also to try and find some healing for me and my childhood self.
Mia Farrow with her children Ronan, left, and Dylan. Photo / Supplied
"Ever since news of her (Little Dylan's) abuse was inadvertently made public, I, my siblings and my mother have all been subjected to an endless barrage of vitriolic slander and baseless rebuke; derision so painful that I separated myself from her in self-defence.
"I hope this tape helps us all find ways to allow painful secrets to come safely out of their closets so we can all head and move forward in strength and peace."
Where to get help:
• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. • If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334. (available 24/7) • Male Survivors Aotearoa offers a range of confidential support at centres across New Zealand - find your closest one here. • Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata: 0800 94 22 94 (available 11am - 8pm) • Alternatively contact your local police station • If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.
