Ever since the accusations over Woody Allen's suspected sexual abuse of his daughter, Dylan Farrow, came to light, the topic has been discussed by everyone, however, even more so in more recent months with the surge of the #MeToo movement. After all this time, the director's wife, Soon-Yi Previn, has decided to speak on the topic in order to defend Allen, and also to criticize her adoptive mother (and ex-wife of Allen), Mia Farrow. In an article on New York Magazine, written by Allen's long-term friend, Daphne Merkin, Previn gives an exclusive interview, ending her months of silence on the subject.
"What's happened to Woody is so upsetting, so unjust. [Mia] has taken advantage of the #MeToo movement and paraded Dylan as a victim. And a whole new generation is hearing about it when they shouldn't," declared Previn.
To continue her charge against Farrow, Previn claims that during her infancy her mother was abusive towards her: "I'd never taken a bath by myself, because in the orphanage it was a big tub and we all got in it. Here, it was for a single person, and I was scared to get in the water by myself. So instead of doing what you would do with an infant ? you know, maybe get into the water, put some toys in, put your arm in to show that you're fine, it's not dangerous ? she just kind of threw me in."
Previn's claims of abuse don't stop there, according to New York Magazine. Insults, physical aggressions, and humiliations were also part of her daily life, Previn claims. "It seems hard to imagine, but I really can't come up with one [good memory of living with Mia Farrow]." She claims that she and her adoptive sisters were treated like maids and forced to do cleaning, food shopping, ironing, and other chores.
Furthermore, she claims that her mother created a hierarchy between her adoptive siblings and her. "She didn't try to hide it, and Fletcher was the star, the golden child. Mia always valued intelligence and also looks, blond hair and blue eyes."
Woody and Soon-Yi
In the interview Soon-Yi also spoke of how her relationship with Woody Allen began: "We talked quite a bit and to the best of my memory I came in from college on some holiday and he showed me a Bergman movie, which I believe was The Seventh Seal, but I'm not positive. We chatted about it, and I must have been impressive because he kissed me and I think that started it. We were like two magnets, very attracted to each other."
Finally she speaks of how her adoptive mother reacted to discovering that Soon-Yi was in a relationship with her husband, Soon-Yi's stepfather. "I remember the phone call when she found the [nude] photos. I picked up the phone and Mia said, 'Soon-Yi.' That's all she needed to say, in that chilling tone of voice. I knew my life was over and that she knew, just by the way she said my name. When she came home, she asked me about it, and I - survival instinct - denied it. And then she said, 'I have photos.' So I knew I was trapped. Of course, she slapped me, you know the way of things. And then she called everyone. She didn't contain the situation."
