Alec Baldwin defends Woody Allen amid Hollywood backlash, criticises his renunciation as 'unfair and sad'

Actor Alec Baldwin on Tuesday expressed support for film maker Woody Allen as a growing number of entertainment industry stars seek to distance themselves from the Annie Hall director as part of the Time’s Up campaign against sexual misconduct. Baldwin, who appeared in three of Allen’s films, said on Twitter that the renunciation of the director and his work was “unfair and sad to me.”

Woody Allen was investigated forensically by two states (NY and CT) and no charges were filed. The renunciation of him and his work, no doubt, has some purpose. But it’s unfair and sad to me. I worked w WA 3 times and it was one of the privileges of my career.

— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) January 16, 2018

Is it possible to support survivors of pedophilia and sexual assault/abuse and also believe that WA is innocent?
I think so.
The intention is not to dismiss or ignore such complaints. But accusing ppl of such crimes should be treated carefully. On behalf of the victims, as well.

— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) January 16, 2018

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Baldwin said working with Allen was “one of the privileges of my career.” The 30 Rock actor then proceeded to retweet a number of posts from people sharing the story of Moses Farrow, the adopted son of Allen and Mia Farrow. Moses claimed he was “brainwashed” by his adoptive mother. [caption id=“attachment_4306669” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Despite public backlash, Alec Baldwin has continued to publicly support Woody Allen. Reuters[/caption] Allen has repeatedly denied decades-old accusations that he molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old in the early 1990s. But sentiment has turned against him during the sexual misconduct scandal sweeping Hollywood that has led to dozens of successful men being forced to resign or being dropped from projects. “I am credible, and I am telling the truth, and I think it’s important that people realize that one victim, one accuser, matters. And that they are enough to change things,” Farrow said in an advance excerpt from a television interview due to be broadcast on the CBS show This Morning on Thursday. In an op-ed published last month in The Los Angeles Times, she wrote: “Why is it that Harvey Weinstein and other accused celebrities have been cast out by Hollywood, while Allen recently secured a multimillion-dollar distribution deal with Amazon, greenlit by former Amazon Studios executive Roy Price before he was suspended over sexual misconduct allegations?” [caption id=“attachment_4306673” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A growing number of actors are distancing themselves from Woody Allen and his next film. Reuters[/caption] Baldwin said he did not intend to “dismiss or ignore such complaints.” “But accusing people of such crimes should be treated carefully,” he added. Representatives of Allen did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The director has never been charged with a crime. Allen, 82, won Oscars for the films Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and the 2011 comedy Midnight in Paris, and continues to release a new movie almost every year. Timothee Chalamet, 22, the star of Call me By Your Name, became the latest actor to announce he will donate the salary he earned from an Allen movie to Time’s Up and other causes for sexual abuse victims. He followed Rebecca Hall , Ellen Page and Mira Sorvino who have made donations or issued regrets about working with Allen in recent weeks. Last week Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig, who acted in the 2012 film To Rome with Love, said she would not work with Allen again. “If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film,” Gerwig, who co-starred in Allen’s 2012 comedy To Rome With Love, told The New York Times last week. “I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again. Dylan Farrow’s two different pieces made me realize that I increased another woman’s pain, and I was heartbroken by that realization.” The Time’s Up campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace was launched two weeks ago by more than 300 Hollywood industry figures. Allen’s most recent film Wonder Wheel, distributed by Amazon Studios, has fared poorly at the North American box office taking only $1.4 million since its 1 December release. His next film A Rainy Day in New York, starring Chalamet and Hall, is due for release later this year. With inputs from agencies