Scarlett Johansson has again defended her friendship with Woody Allen, telling a British newspaper that she stands by the director and accepts any professional fallout her stance has created. In a new interview promoting upcoming projects, the actor said she grew up being told “it’s important to have integrity, and stand up for what you believe in,” comments she echoed this week as she addressed decades of controversy around Allen and his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow’s accusation of childhood sexual abuse.
Johansson, who worked with Allen on “Match Point,” “Scoop” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” told the interviewer she does not know whether her support has cost her jobs or relationships, but she accepts that “domino effect.” She added that she has learned “it’s also important to know when it’s not your turn,” explaining that sometimes she chooses not to speak, even while holding firm in private.
Her comments extend a position she first set out in a 2019 cover story, where she said of Allen, “I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime,” noting that they have discussed the allegations extensively and that he “maintains his innocence.” Years earlier, after Dylan Farrow named her in a 2014 open letter about Allen, Johansson called the letter “irresponsible” and questioned having actors singled out in that way.
Allen’s legal exposure remains unchanged. In 1992, Mia Farrow accused him of molesting seven-year-old Dylan at the family’s Connecticut home. Investigations in New York and Connecticut did not lead to charges, though a Connecticut prosecutor later said he believed there was probable cause and cited concern for Dylan’s welfare in declining to pursue a case. Allen has denied wrongdoing for more than three decades, while the allegations gained renewed visibility through the #MeToo movement and the 2021 HBO series “Allen v. Farrow.”
Dylan Farrow has repeatedly rejected Johansson’s stance. After the 2019 interview, she wrote on X that “you definitely should believe male predators who ‘maintain their innocence’ without question,” adding that Johansson “has a long way to go in understanding the issue she claims to champion.” Farrow has continued to maintain that Allen abused her, and she frames her public advocacy as an attempt to centre victims’ voices in high-profile cases.
Johansson’s renewed comments land in an industry still split over Allen. Actors including Timothée Chalamet, Greta Gerwig and Colin Firth have expressed regret about working with him or redirected their salaries to charity, while others such as Javier Bardem and Diane Keaton have defended him. This year Sean Penn said on a podcast that Allen has “not been proven guilty” and that he would work with him again “in a heartbeat,” citing the principle of innocence until proven guilty.
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Johansson’s position also sits alongside her visibility in movements against harassment. A founding Time’s Up supporter, she has more recently addressed misconduct allegations involving former co-star Bill Murray, saying she believes “life has humbled him” and that people can change. Her unwavering support for Allen, paired with her advocacy on other cases, keeps her at the centre of an unresolved debate inside Hollywood about loyalty, due process and how stars use their platforms when allegations never reach a courtroom.
