Woody Allen has been at the center of multiple controversies, including molestation accusations by his adoptive step-daughter Dylan Farrow and his marriage to the adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn of his longtime previous partner Mia Farrow.
In a new interview with The Daily Mail, the award-winning director maintains his innocence of misbehavior, and claims the scandals have cost him several lucrative deals.
"Of course I am aware I am the subject of gossip and scandal, but I cannot let it bother me. I live my life. I work. I play jazz. I watch sports. I see my friends. I don’t look up and I don’t read anything," Allen tells the Daily Mail. "It was a false allegation but a great tabloid drama."
The accusations that his daughter lobbed against him resurfaced in the #MeToo era, and then again when the 84-year-old released his memoir Apropos of Nothing this year. The book’s publisher, Hachette, dropped the deal with Allen after his son Ronan Farrow objected. (Farrow released Catch and Kill, about the #MeToo movement, via Hachette). Apropos was then published by Arcade.
And while he admits that many could have viewed his marriage as an "exploitative situation," he says "for whatever inexplicable reason," he found the "right " relationship with Previn, 49.
"She doesn’t really like jazz or sports, and I don’t like some of the TV shows she watches. But we agree on the big stuff – raising kids, where to live, how to act with each other," he says.
The pair share Bechet, 21, and Manzie, 20.
Allen tells The Daily Mail: "If I get a chance and the virus abates, maybe before I die there is always the chance I will make a great film. But I haven’t done that yet."