Sexual abuse ends Woody Allen’s book publishing with Hachette

This post is also available in: العربية

Sexual abuse accusations forced an end to Woody Allen’s “Apropos of Nothing” memoir by Hachette publishing house. Allegations that Allen molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old in the early 1990s have dogged the American Oscar-winning filmmaker for decades.

The publisher planned to release the American filmmaker’s autobiography on April 7th but Hachette Book Group on Friday dropped its plans to publish it, saying it would return all rights to the author, a day after its employees protested its deal with the film maker.

“The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one. We take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly. We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard,” a spokeswoman for the publisher said in a statement.

But she added that Hachette executives had discussed the matter with employees and, “after listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for Hachette Book Group”.

The journalist Ronan Farrow, whose book Catch and Kill was published by another Hachette imprint, criticized Hachette in an email earlier this week, calling its decision to publish Mr. Allen’s book a betrayal.

“Your policy of editorial independence among your imprints does not relieve you of your moral and professional obligations as the publisher of Catch and Kill, and as the leader of a company being asked to assist in efforts by abusive men to whitewash their crimes,” Mr. Farrow wrote to Michael Pietsch, the chief executive of Hachette.

Mr. Farrow, whose reporting on accusations of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein and other powerful men helped touch off the #MeToo movement, is Mr. Allen’s son with the actress Mia Farrow.

Mr. Farrow and his adopted sister, Dylan Farrow, have long accused Mr. Allen of molesting her when she was a child, allegations he has denied. Mr. Allen was not charged after two investigations.