Drew Barrymore looks back on working with Woody Allen: I was 'basically gaslit'

Drew Barrymore is adding her voice to those in the industry who have had their eyes opened up to the behavior of Woody Allen. During an interview with Dylan Farrow on Monday's episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress and host invited Farrow onto the couch and admitted she regretted working with the once acclaimed director.

"I would like to explain myself because this is not about me but I wanted to have this type of candor," Barrymore explained. "I worked with Woody Allen, I did a film with him in 1996 called Everyone Says I Love You and there was no higher career calling card than to work with Woody Allen. And then I had children. And it changed me because I realized that I was one of the people who was basically gaslit into not looking at a narrative beyond what I was being told and I see what's happening in the industry now. And that is because of you making that brave choice."

Farrow appeared on Barrymore's show to talk about her YA novel, Hush, and her experience participating in HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow released last year. The four-part documentary, directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, detailed the alleged sexual incidents between Farrow and her adopted father through never-before-seen home video footage that included a 7-year-old Farrow recounting a description of her alleged sexual abuse. It also explored the public and personal fallout of the 1993 lawsuit where Mia Farrow gained custody of her children.

Farrow replied emotionally to Barrymore's statement, saying, "It's so meaningful because it's easy for me to say of course you shouldn't work with him, he's a jerk, he's a monster. But I just find it incredibly brave and incredibly generous that you would say to me that my story and what I went through was important enough to you to reconsider that."

Allen has repeatedly denied all accusations of sexual abuse since Farrow first came forward with her story in a Los Angeles Times op-ed in 2017. The filmmakers approached every member of the Allen family to share their story in the documentary, but Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn declined to be involved.

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