Following Dylan Farrow’s harrowing letter describing sexual molestation she says she suffered from father Woody Allen – her brother Moses is speaking out to defend Allen, accusing their mother Mia of poisoning them against their father.
Responding to accusation first made 20 years ago that has bitterly divided the family, Moses accused Mia Farrow of turning him and Dylan against Allen as revenge for his affair with Soon-Yi.
“Of course Woody did not molest my sister,” says Moses, who is estranged from Mia Farrow and remains close to Allen and Soon-Yi.
“My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister,” Moses, 36, tells People Magazine’s new issue. “And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.”
Allen, 78, has denied abusing Dylan, arguing that Farrow, 69, coached Dylan, an accusation that Farrow refutes. Allen was investigated when the allegation was first made but not charged with molestation.
Speaking of Dylan’s childhood relationship with the Hollywood director, Moses continued, “She loved him and looked forward to seeing him when he would visit. She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him.
“The day in question, there were six or seven of us in the house. We were all in public rooms and no one, not my father or sister, was off in any private spaces. My mother was conveniently out shopping.
“I don’t know if my sister really believes she was molested or is trying to please her mother. Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation because to be on her wrong side was horrible.”
Moses even accuses Farrow of bullying him, telling People, “Our mother has misled the public into believing it was a happy household of both biological and adopted children.
“From an early age, my mother demanded obedience and I was often hit as a child. She went into unbridled rages if we angered her, which was intimidating at the very least and often horrifying, leaving us not knowing what she would do.”
Moses and Dylan, 28, both adopted by Allen and Farrow, and their brother Ronan, 26, were in the center of a 1993 custody battle which involved testimony about Allen’s affair with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen married in 1997. Farrow was awarded custody of the couple’s three children. In total, she has 14 kids from her marriages and adoptions.
Despite Moses’ claims, Dylan insists that she is telling the truth.
“This is such a betrayal to me and my whole family,” she told People in response to her brother’s comments. “My memories are the truth and they are mine and I will live with that for the rest of my life.”
“My mother never coached me. She never planted false memories in my brain. My memories are mine. I remember them. She was distraught when I told her. When I came forward with my story she was hoping against hope that I had made it up. In one of the most heartbreaking conversations I have ever had, she sat me down and asked me if I was telling the truth. She said that Dad said he didn’t do anything. And I said, ‘He’s lying.'”
And about Moses’ claims of being bullied, Dylan counters, “I don’t know where he gets this about getting beaten. We were sent to our rooms sometimes.
“I will not see my family dragged down like this,” she adds. “I can’t stay silent when my family needs me and I will not abandon them like Soon-Yi and Moses. My brother is dead to me. My mother is so brave and so courageous and taught me what it means to be strong and brave and tell the truth even in the face of these monstrous lies.”
Farrow, who declined to respond to Moses’s accusations, tweeted “I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it’s about her truth.”
Moses, a family therapist, says that his life has been made better by spending time with Woody Allen.
“I think my sister is missing a great deal in life in not reconnecting with her father, who had always adored her,” he says. “It’s important that she assert her independence from our mother and not go through life with the false impression that she has been molested by my father. I am very happy I have come into my own power, separating from my mother, which has led to a positive reunion with my father.”
Allen’s family says that the director is devastated by Dylan’s letter. “This is a horrible, horrible tragedy,” Allen’s sister Letty Aronson said. “He feels very badly for Dylan, that she has been so poisoned by her mother.”
A statement by Allen’s spokeswoman released on Sunday following the publication of Dylan’s letter on a New York Times blog reads: “Mr. Allen has read the article and found it untrue and disgraceful. He will be responding very soon. In the meantime, it is essential that your coverage make the following facts clear: At the time, a thorough investigation was conducted by court appointed independent experts. The experts concluded there was no credible evidence of molestation; that Dylan Farrow had an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality; and that Dylan Farrow had likely been coached by her mother Mia Farrow. No charges were ever filed.”