Cate Blanchett has addressed the allegations aimed at Woody Allen, claiming she knew nothing of them when they worked together.
The actor won a best actress Oscar for her part in the filmmaker’s 2013 comedy drama Blue Jasmine and is the latest star to talk about the claims of sexual abuse levelled at him.
While appearing on CNN’s Amanpour, host Christiane Amanpour asked her how she could juxtapose being a #MeToo proponent with staying silent about working with Allen.
“I don’t think I’ve stayed silent at all,” Blanchett said. “At the time that I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations. At the time, I said it’s a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve.”
Allen’s daughter Dylan Farrow has accused him of molesting her when she was a child, something that Allen denies. Despite a state’s attorney saying he had “probable cause” to persecute Allen was never put on trial, a move intended to spare Dylan Farrow the trauma of a court appearance.
Blanchett also talked about the importance of the justice system.
“If these allegations need to be re-examined which, in my understanding, they’ve been through court, then I’m a big believer in the justice system and setting legal precedents,” she said. “If the case needs to be reopened, I am absolutely, wholeheartedly in support of that.”
She also stressed that social media shouldn’t be seen as the “judge and jury” when it comes to these cases. “I feel that these things need to go into court, so if these abuses have happened, the person is prosecuted and so someone who is not in the shiny industry that I am can use that legal precedent to protect themselves,” she said. “Always, in my industry or any other industry, they’re preyed upon because they’re vulnerable.”
Blanchett is the latest actor to address Allen’s alleged abuse of his daughter, following on from Mira Sorvino, Marion Cotillard, Greta Gerwig, Colin Firth and Ellen Page. His next film, titled A Rainy Day in New York, is currently awaiting release while its stars, Rebecca Hall and Timothee Chalamet, have announced that they will donate their salaries from the film to charities.
Earlier this month, Michael Caine spoke to the Guardian and revealed that he too wouldn’t work with Allen again. “I am so stunned,” he said. “I’m a patron of the NSPCC [National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children] and have very strong views about paedophilia. I can’t come to terms with it, because I loved Woody and had a wonderful time with him. I even introduced him to Mia [Farrow]. I don’t regret working with him, which I did in complete innocence; but I wouldn’t work with him again, no.”
