Advertisement

Drew Barrymore Regrets Working With Woody Allen, Was ‘Gaslit’ Into Dismissing Allegations

Antonio Ferme
·2-min read

While speaking with Dylan Farrow on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” the actor and talk show host said that she was “gaslit” about the narrative surrounding Woody Allen when she accepted the role in the 1996 film “Everyone Says I Love You.”

“There was no higher career calling card than to work with Woody Allen,” Barrymore said. “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. So thank you for that.”

More from Variety

Allen was recently the subject of the new HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow,” which examines the events that led up to 7-year-old Farrow, the daughter of Allen and Mia Farrow, accusing her father of sexually abusing her in 1992. The molestation allegations made national headlines and prompted an investigation by the Connecticut State Police. After the New York Department of Social Services found “no credible evidence” to support the allegation in 1993, Allen continued to receive critical praise in Hollywood and pump out one feature film a year.

A few years after the controversy died down, Barrymore starred alongside Allen, Julia Roberts, Alan Alda and Edward Norton in “Everyone Says I Love You.” She now joins a number of other actors who worked with Allen and have since spoken out against him including Kate Winslet, Selena Gomez, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall and Rachel Brosnahan. Farrow told Barrymore that she was brave for apologizing and having her on the show to tell her story.

“I’m trying not to cry right now,” Farrow told Barrymore. “It’s so meaningful because it’s so easy for me to say, ‘Of course you shouldn’t work with him. He’s a jerk. He’s a monster.’ 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 reconsider that.”

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.