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Ronan Farrow dumps publisher for releasing Woody Allen’s memoir

Ronan Farrow has blasted the publisher of his blockbuster book “Catch and Kill,” claiming the company went behind his back to strike a deal with his estranged father, Woody Allen, to release his upcoming memoir.
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Ronan Farrow has blasted the publisher of his blockbuster book “Catch and Kill,” claiming the company went behind his back to strike a deal with his estranged father, Woody Allen, to release his upcoming memoir.

Farrow said in a statement posted to Twitter that he only learned through the media that Hachette Book Group was releasing Allen’s memoir, “Apropos of Nothing,” next month. It was rumored for years that Allen had written the book, but it was considered unpublishable in the #MeToo era and a number of major publishers refused to be associated with it, the Guardian reported.

Farrow said he was cutting ties with Hachette after learning the company had “concealed the decision from me and its own employees while we were working on ‘Catch and Kill’ —a book about how powerful men, including Woody Allen, avoid accountability for sexual abuse.”

Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, described the book as “a comprehensive account” of Allen’s life, “both personal and professional.” In addition to describing Allen’s work in films, TV, theater and nightclubs, the 84-year-old Allen “writes of his relationships with family, friends and the loves of his life.”

In his tweet, Farrow also accused the publisher of not fact-checking or reaching out to his adoptive sister, Dylan, for her version of events. Dylan Farrow has long claimed that Allen sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s when she was age 7. Allen has repeatedly denied Dylan Farrow’s allegations.

“It’s wildly unprofessional in multiple obvious directions for Hachette to behave this way,” wrote Farrow, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting for the New Yorker that helped expose multiple sexual assault allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein.

Farrow said Hachette’s alleged failure to fact-check also “shows a lack of ethics and compassion for victims of sexual abuse, regardless of any personal connection or breach of trust here.”

The Guardian reported that Hachette “quietly” acquired Allen’s book about a year ago and has not disclosed how much the director is getting paid.

Farrow and Allen have long been estranged, due to Dylan Farrow’s allegations and Allen’s decision to date and marry Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Ronan and Dylan Farrow’s mother. Allen and Mia Farrow were in a relationship but broke up in 1992 after she discovered Allen and Soon-Yi Previn were having an affair.

The Oscar-winning Allen is considered to be one of the most influential American filmmakers and voices in comedy in the last half of the 20th century. He is known for such works as “Annie Hall,” “Manhattan,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Blue Jasmine.”

But the #MeToo-era brought new scrutiny to Dylan Farrow’s allegations and effectively stalled Allen’s film career in the United States. Major stars said they would no longer work with him, and Amazon Studios backed out of a production and distribution deal with him.