Scarlett Johansson Kind Of Comments On The Woody Allen Scandal

In her explosive open letter to Hollywood about her father, Woody Allen, Dylan Farrow implored the acting community at large to speak out about the abuse Farrow says Allen inflicted upon her. A few did, but none to any major degree, and now, The Guardian asked Scarlett Johansson to weigh in.

In her interview, Johansson talks about her Sodastream scandal and Her, but the quote that publications are guaranteed to glom onto is her discussion of Allen. She responds to being called out in Farrow's letter by saying, "I think it's irresponsible to take a bunch of actors that will have a Google alert on and to suddenly throw their name into a situation that none of us could possibly knowingly comment on. That just feels irresponsible to me."

Certainly widespread coverage of the allegations, from our own Kelsey Miller's article to Robert Weide's rebuttal on The Daily Beast, has shown there's a dearth of undisputed facts. And, that scarcity allowed Johansson to play coy: “I’m unaware that there’s been a backlash," she said. "I think [Allen will] continue to know what he knows about the situation, and I’m sure the other people involved have their own experience with it. It’s not like this is somebody that’s been prosecuted and found guilty of something, and you can then go, ‘I don’t support this lifestyle or whatever.’ I mean, it’s all guesswork."

The one thing we do know for sure is that Dylan Farrow believes that she was molested by her father. But, the point is not whether or not Scarlett Johansson believes what Farrow claims — Johansson herself was a toddler when the alleged abuse took place. What is troubling is that Johansson acknowledges that she doesn't know the situation well enough to comment, and then proceeds to anyway, calling Farrow "irresponsible" for naming her in the first place.

For Farrow to think that the whole of Hollywood would denounce Allen would be naive. But, that's not what she asked. In a single open letter, she simply requested that her story not be forgotten. Johansson seems to miss that point when claiming to be unaware of any backlash against the director. That there isn't any backlash, discussion, or even acknowledgment from members of his Hollywood cohort is the exact inevitability Farrow was warning against. Johansson, in attempting to not participate in the conversation at all, has played a part in that. (The Guardian)