Hachette says it has dropped Woody Allen's book after facing backlash
Hachette Book Group has decided not to publish Woody Allen's upcoming memoir "Apropos of Nothing," the publisher confirmed to CBS News. This decision comes after two of the director's estranged children spoke out against the publishing of his book.
Dylan Farrow, who alleges Allen sexually assaulted her as a child, wrote on Twitter that Hachette's choice to publish the book is "deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother whose brave reporting, capitalized on by Hachette, gave voice to numerous survivors of sexual assault by powerful men."
Her brother, Ronan Farrow, published his book "Catch and Kill" through Hachette's Little, Brown and Company imprint. The book is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative report on Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile sexual abusers.
He also posted about the decision to publish Allen's book, writing on Twitter that he was "disappointed" the company acquired Allen's memoir when other publishers refused to do so – and that they concealed the decision while working on "Catch and Kill."
In his statement, Farrow also defended his sister, saying she was "never contacted to respond to any denial or mischaracterization of the abuses she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen – a credible allegation, maintained for almost three decades, backed up by contemporaneous accounts and evidence."
In January 2018, Farrow told her story to "CBS This Morning" for the first time on television. Farrow said that when she was 7, she told her mother, actress Mia Farrow, that Allen had molested her. Allen has vehemently denied the accusation and was never charged with a crime, but the allegations figured prominently in a legal battle when the couple split.
After the Farrows released their statements, employees at the Little, Brown imprint staged a walk-out in protest of the book on Thursday, according to multiple publications including NPR and The New York Times.
One day later, the company decided not to publish Allen's book, which was scheduled to be released in April 2020. The rights will be returned to the author, the company said in a statement to CBS News.
"The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one," the company said. "At HBG 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. Also, as a company, we are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG."
