Drew Barrymore says she was ‘gaslit’ into working with Woody Allen

By PTI
LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Drew Barrymore has expressed regret over working with disgraced filmmaker Woody Allen, saying she was “gaslit into not looking at a narrative” beyond what she was told.

The 46-year-old actor opened up on “The Drew Barrymore Show”, which she hosts, as she sat for an interview with writer and Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow.

The two discussed “Allen v Farrow”, the HBO documentary that looks into the story behind the sexual abuse allegations made by Dylan Farrow against the director when she was a child.

The accusations, which Allen has repeatedly denied, caught steam once again in the wake of the #MeToo uprising.

The embattled director has denounced the documentary as well.

“I want to say, first out of the gate…that I would like to explain myself,” said Barrymore, who had worked with Allen on the 1996 musical comedy “Everyone Says I Love You”, a few years after the controversy died down.

“This is not about me, but I wanted to have this type of candor. I worked with Woody Allen…and there was no higher career calling card than to work with Woody Allen,” the Golden Globe winner said.

“Everyone Says I Love You” also starred Allen, Goldie Hawn, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Roberts, Edward Norton, Alan Alda and Tim Roth and was nominated for best motion picture – musical or comedy at the Golden Globes.

“Then I had children. And it changed me because I realized that I was one of the people who was basically gaslit into not looking at a narrative beyond what I was being told,” Barrymore continued.

Dylan Farrow said Barrymore’s remarks were “brave and generous”.

“It is just so meaningful because it’s easy for me to say, ‘Of course you shouldn’t work with him he’s a jerk, he’s a monster.’ But I just find it incredibly brave and incredibly generous that you would say to me that my story and what I went through was important enough to you to reconsider that,” the 35-year-old actor said.

“Allen v Farrow” is a four-part documentary that hails from investigative filmmakers Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy.

It also features in-depth interviews with Dylan Farrow’s mother-actor Mia Farrow, her brother and investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, family friend Carly Simon, prosecutor Frank Maco, relatives, investigators, experts and other first-hand eyewitnesses many of them speaking publicly about the events for the first time.

A representative for Allen did not immediately respond to People magazine’s request for comment.