Recent published articles in the New York Times from Dylan Farrow, and subsequently in rebuttal Woody Allen, have brought into the light allegations that have arisen from what appears to have been a highly dysfunctional family environment. My reading of the articles, some of the trial evidence, as well as third party accounts, does not lead me or others to any conclusions as to whether the then 7 year old Dylan Farrow was sexually abused by Woody Allen, as she alleges.
What is clear is that the relationship between Mia Farrow and Woody Allen was toxic. There is a suggestion that whether Allen committed any acts of abuse, or not, his former partner was highly vindictive toward him, resulting in what appears to be a very toxic parental alienation campaign. The articles state:
“Former nanny Monica Thompson (whose salary was paid by Allen, since three of the brood were also his) swore in a deposition to Allen’s attorneys that she was pressured by Farrow to support the molestation charges, and the pressure led her to resign her position.”
“And then there was this quote from Moses Farrow – Dylan’s brother, also adopted, and now a 36-year-old family therapist: “My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister,” Moses Farrow, 36, told People Magazine. “And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.” He added, “Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation [for Dylan] because to be on her wrong side was horrible.”
A significant part of my practice involves highly charged custody litigation, some of which involve allegations of sexual abuse and parental alienation. I take all of these issues seriously, and utilizing my training, background and experience with psychological disorders and family system issues, I make a real effort to bring to bear strong clinical inputs as well as strategies to investigate and defuse family abuse, dysfunction, and parental alienation campaigns.
Regardless of whether Mia Farrow is truthful, or Woody Allen, the net result is that their children were harmed, and ended up split against each other, and against their parents. A tragedy no matter the causes and origins.