Woody Allen has said he is “sad” for Harvey Weinstein as the allegations of sexual assault and harassment mount against the disgraced producer, and cautioned against a “witch hunt” against other men.
The director said he had heard rumours about the movie mogul but not the “horror stories” of the allegations that have been made against him.
He told the BBC: “The whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for everybody involved.
“Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that his life is so messed up.
“There’s no winners in that, it’s just very, very sad and tragic for those poor women that had to go through that.”
Allen said he hoped the revelations would lead to “some amelioration”, but added: “You also don’t want it to 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.
“But sure, you hope that something like this could be transformed into a benefit for people rather than just a sad or tragic situation.”
Weinstein has been credited with reviving Allen’s career after the director was accused of abusing Dylan Farrow, his daughter with actress Mia Farrow.
He has always vehemently denied the claims.
They worked together on a number of films, including the Oscar-winning Mighty Aphrodite in 1995.
The allegation against Allen emerged in the early 1990s after the director separated from Farrow when the actress discovered he was having an affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.
But despite working closely with Weinstein on a number of projects, Allen said he had never heard any allegations of rape and sexual assault.
“No one ever came to me or told me horror stories with any real seriousness.
“And they wouldn’t, because you are not interested in it. You are interested in making your movie.
“But you do hear a million fanciful rumours all the time. And some turn out to be true and some – many – are just stories about this actress, or that actor.”
Allen’s son Ronan Farrow, the brother of Dylan, was among the journalists who investigated Weinstein, penning a piece in The New Yorker in which three women alleged he raped them.
Weinstein has strongly denied any non-consensual sex.
