Woody Allen has weighed in on the allegations of sexual misconduct made against Harvey Weinstein and reported on by Allen's son, Ronan Farrow, saying he feels "very sad for everybody involved" but he's also concerned that it "could lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere."
Farrow interviewed more than 10 women for his New Yorker article, and they told him that Weinstein, a powerful producer, sexually harassed or assaulted them. Allen can credit Weinstein with helping him recover professionally in the early 1990s, after he was accused of molesting his adopted daughter with Mia Farrow, Dylan, which he has denied. Allen and Weinstein worked together on films like Mighty Aphrodite, and Allen told the BBC that while you hear "a million fanciful rumors" while working in Hollywood, he never heard "these horror stories" about Weinstein. No one ever approached Allen with allegations against Weinstein, he said, "and they wouldn't, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in making your movie."
Now that he knows about the accusations, Allen said it's "sad for Harvey that [his] life is so messed up" and it's "very, very sad and tragic for those poor women that had to go through that." He's said he's hopeful that "something like this could be transformed into a benefit for people rather than just a sad or tragic situation," but also worries it could "lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself. That's not right either."