Javier Bardem 'shocked' by Woody Allen treatment: 'I have doubts'
Javier Bardem has jumped to the defence of Woody Allen despite allegations the director assaulted his adopted daughter when she was a child.
The actor, who starred in Allen's film Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), shunned criticism faced by the filmmaker telling French publication Paris Match he's “absolutely not” ashamed to have worked with him.
“If there was evidence that Woody Allen was guilty, then yes, I would have stopped working with him, but I have doubts," People reports Bardem as saying.
He continued: “I am very shocked by this sudden treatment. Judgments in the states of New York and Connecticut found him innocent. The legal situation today is the same as in 2007."
Attention turned back to writer-director Allen as the #MeToo movement gained momentum in Hollywood with many shedding lights on the accusations made against him by adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow. They date back to 1992.
Bardem's sentiments echo that of Alec Baldwin and his Annie Hall co-star Diane Keaton, the latter describing Allen's criticism as “unfair and sad” back in January despite many actors - including Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Hall - expressing regret over working with him. The former donated his entire fee earned on the forthcoming film A Rainy Day in New York to the Time's Up fund.
Farrow accused the Blue Jasmine director of molesting her in the house of her mother - Allen's ex-wife Mia Farrow - when she was just 7-years-old. No charges were filed against Allen who was investigated over the claims.
Bardem starred in Vicky Cristina Barcelona alongside Scarlett Johansson and his wife, Penélope Cruz.
