Javier Bardem has come to the defense of Woody Allen in response to other actors distancing themselves from the film-maker.
The Oscar-winning actor, who worked with Allen on 2008’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has said in a new interview that he is “absolutely not” ashamed of starring in the film.
“If there was evidence that Woody Allen was guilty, then yes, I would have stopped working with him, but I have doubts,” he said in an interview with Paris Match.
After resurfaced allegations of sexual abuse made by Allen’s daughter Dylan Farrow, a host of actors have spoken out about working with the film-maker. Stars including Ellen Page, Michael Caine and Greta Gerwig all said they would never work with him again.
“I am very shocked by this sudden treatment,” Bardem said. “Judgments in the states of New York and Connecticut found him innocent. The legal situation today is the same as in 2007.”
In fact no charges were filed after Farrow accused him of molesting her when she was a child, something that Allen denies. Despite a state’s attorney saying he had “probable cause” to prosecute, Allen was never put on trial, a move intended to spare Dylan Farrow the trauma of a court appearance, the prosecutor said.
An op-ed from Dylan Farrow in December, criticizing the hypocrisy of actors for keeping quiet over the alleged abuse from her father, led to more speaking out. “I can only speak for myself and what I’ve come to is this: if I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film,” Gerwig said in a roundtable discussion for the New York Times. “I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again.”
Allen’s next film, A Rainy Day in New York, is still awaiting release. Two of its stars, Rebecca Hall and Timothée Chalamet, have already donated their salaries to charity. “I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the brave artists who are fighting for all the people to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve,” wrote Chalamet in an Instagram post.
Bardem’s response arrives after Alec Baldwin also made his defense of the director clear. “Woody Allen was investigated forensically by two states (NY and CT) and no charges were filed,” Baldwin tweeted. “The renunciation of him and his work, no doubt, has some purpose. But it’s unfair and sad to me. I worked w WA 3 times and it was one of the privileges of my career.”
Diane Keaton has also continued to support the film-maker. “Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” she tweeted in January.