Scarlett Johansson once again defends Woody Allen: 'I believe my friend'

Scarlett Johansson may not make it to the 2020 Oscars without stirring up controversy a few more times.

After coming under fire in September for defending Woody Allen, who has been accused by his daughter Dylan Farrow of sexual assault, Johansson doubled down Tuesday in an interview with Vanity Fair.

"I do understand how that is triggering for some people," Johansson, a likely best actress nominee at next year's Academy Awards for Marriage Story, said. "But just because I believe my friend does not mean that I don't support women, believe women. I think you have to take it on a case-by-case basis. You can't have this blanket statement — I don't believe that. But that's my personal belief. That's how I feel."

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In recent years, numerous former Allen collaborators have expressed regret for working with him in spite of Farrow's abuse allegation, which Allen has denied and was not charged for. But Johansson, who starred in Allen's films Match Point, Scoop, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has voiced no such regret, in September saying she "would work with him anytime."

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Johansson acknowledged having had numerous comments like these "picked apart" in the the past but said, "I think it's dangerous to temper how you represent yourself, because you're afraid of that kind of response. That, to me, doesn't seem very progressive at all. That seems scary."