The New York Times makes a rush to judgment on Woody Allen story

The defenestration of Woody Allen started Feb. 2 with a column in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof. He began by saying all the right things: that allegations against Allen of sexually molesting Dylan Farrow, the 7-year-old daughter of his onetime companion Mia Farrow, had never been proved and that Allen “should be presumed innocent.” Then Kristof threw Allen out the window.

Waiting below was a mob of people who felt as Kristof did: There must be something to the allegations. Left unsaid in the Kristof column, but figuring mightily in public opinion, was the perception of Allen as odd, asocial and creepy because he had carried on an affair with another of Farrow’s adopted daughters (whom he later married) and took nude pictures of her. Here, in short, was a man supposedly capable of doing what he was accused of. Case closed.

Not quite. Allen responded to the Kristof column in a New York Times opinion article of his own Sunday. It is not dispositive but it is persuasive. Allen noted that he has never been charged with sexual molestation, that he passed a lie detector test soon after the alleged event (21 years ago) and that he attributes the accusation to his messy breakup with Farrow.

I am not here today to settle the matter. I have no idea what happened, but neither does Ronan Farrow, the child of Farrow and Allen and soon to be an MSNBC television host, who has gone after Allen with the Twitter version of an ax. Ronan Farrow’s sincerity is not in doubt. But he was not present when the alleged crime took place, and he was a mere 4 at the time.

I am here, though, to take the New York Times to task. It published Kristof’s column, which was, a fair reading would conclude, an indictment of Allen. Kristof unloaded the terms “traumatized,” “belatedly diagnosed” and “post-traumatic stress disorder” in reference to Dylan — if they exist, so must the causes of them. He acknowledged that he is a friend of Mia and Ronan Farrow, and it was through them that he was contacted by Dylan, now 28. Kristof said he reached out to Allen, who declined to comment on the record.

As it happens, the Golden Globe Awards recently honored Allen. And as it also happens, one of the clips of Allen films shown during the awards presentation was authorized by none other than Mia Farrow. Possibly Kristof did not know this, but he said that the Golden Globes “sided” with Allen. In doing so, it sent “the message that celebrities in film, music and sports too often send to abuse victims.” If this were “Law & Order,” that paragraph would end with the familiar clang.

Then came yet another boilerplate disclaimer. “These are extremely tough issues, and certainty isn’t available,” Kristof wrote. Yet this was followed instantly by an implied “certainty” that, just a moment before, had been missing: “But hundreds of thousands of boys and girls are abused each year, and they deserve support and sensitivity. When evidence is ambiguous, do we really need to leap to our feet and lionize an alleged molester?”

The Kristof column caused a stink, as well it should have. The column, which quoted heavily from a compelling open letter from Dylan, was persuasive. So was Allen’s rebuttal. But mostly I had to wonder whatever happened to the age-old journalistic practice of being evenhanded — of reporting both sides of a story before going into print.

Kristof is a marvel of a columnist, indefatigable as a champion of victims of all kinds — particularly women and girls. But this time he made a mere swipe at balance. It was negligent of the Times to allow him to do so, and the rare decision to later give Allen his say does not rectify matters. The paper permitted a columnist to settle the functional equivalent of a personal score. He did not uncover a shred of new evidence; he did not provide us with a unique take on the matter. He simply believed his two friends, Dylan’s mother and brother, and so, for a moment, did I. His was a powerful piece.

It’s hard to imagine a more odious crime than child molestation. It’s hard also to imagine the mortification of those falsely accused of it. If the Times thinks it has made matters right by printing Allen’s rebuttal, it is both naive and wrong. It may or may not owe Allen an apology, but it owes one to its readers.

Richard Cohen, Washington Post