Scarlett Johansson says she ‘loves’ and ‘believes’ Woody Allen despite sex abuse allegations
‘I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me’, Johansson said
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Scarlett Johansson has said that she does not believe the sexual abuse allegations made against Woody Allen, and that she would “work with him anytime”.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Johansson said: “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.”
“I love Woody,” she said. “I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
Johansson has worked with the filmmaker on three occasions, in 2005’s Match Point, 2006’s Scoop and 2008’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Allen’s career has experienced a number of setbacks since the dawn of the #MeToo movement, which led to the resurfacing of childhood sexual abuse allegations by his daughter Dylan Farrow. Allen has always denied abusing Farrow.
Numerous actors have been asked to condemn Allen in the wake of Farrow’s allegations, including Johansson, Cate Blanchett and Colin Firth, while actors including Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Hall were encouraged to donate their salaries for Allen’s forthcoming film A Rainy Day in New York, which has so far been unable to secure a release in the US or the UK.
A high-profile production deal between Allen and Amazon Studios was also scrapped in the wake of #MeToo.
In the same interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Johansson also said that she would no longer talk about race or gender in film, after previously saying in an interview that she could “play any person, or any tree or any animal because that is my job”. Johansson had been criticised for playing a Japanese woman in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell, and nearly playing a transgender man in the aborted biopic Rub & Tug.
“There’s other voices that have more to say on this subject that probably need a microphone,” she said. “Yeah. I think I’m done speaking on that subject.”
Johansson next appears in two Oscar-primed films: Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story and Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. She will additionally star in a Black Widow movie arriving in summer 2020.
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