In 2019, Scarlett Johansson told The Hollywood Reporter about Woody Allen: “I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
The A-list actress is one of the few actors to have stayed loyal to the Oscar-winning director after his stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow, alleged he had sexually abused her as a child. Since 1992, when the claims first came to light (they were later investigated and dismissed by New York Social Services), Allen has found himself ostracized by certain corners of Hollywood and his image worsened by the #MeToo movement. He has consistently denied the claims.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph about her directorial debut, the June Squibb-starring Eleanor the Great, Johansson —who has worked with Allen on three of his films: Match Point (2005), Scoop (2006) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) — was asked about going to bat for Allen in that THR piece and how she handled the “inevitable online furore.” She was asked: What were the consequences?
“I guess it’s hard to know,” she responded. “You never know what the domino effect is, exactly. But my mom always encouraged me to be myself, [to see] that it’s important to have integrity, and stand up for what you believe in.”
“At the same time,” she continued, “I think it’s also important to know when it’s not your turn. I don’t mean that you should silence yourself. I mean sometimes it’s just not your time. And that’s something I’ve understood more as I’ve matured.”
Johansson also said to THR in 2019: “I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.”
The late Diane Keaton also defended Allen through the allegations (he released an emotional statement about their relationship after the news of her death broke in October). But many actors who have worked with him, including Michael Caine,Timothée Chalametand Greta Gerwig, have publiclyexpressed regretabout doing so. In recent years, he has struggled to secure U.S. distribution for his films.
A rep for Johansson did not immediately respond to comment on her more recent statements.
Also in The Telegraph piece, Johansson opens up about a financial backer of Eleanor the Great pulling out at the last minute due to Squibb’s character, a Jewish woman, falsely claiming to be a Holocaust survivor. “Love the film, Scarlett, but we’re not so keen on the whole Holocaust thing. Can we have the character lie about something else?” the gist of the investor’s message was, according to The Telegraph.
Johansson said no alternative was offered, but the character’s lie was the anchor of the film. “We’d been talking about the film for so many months, and then this was the outcome?” she said. “It was really shocking, and I was so disappointed.” An “emergency ring-round” soon brought Sony Pictures Classics on board as distributors.