On Tuesday, topless activists interrupted a concert by Woody Allen in Hamburg, Germany. The activists were protesting against the “culture of silence” surrounding the sexual abuse allegations against the US director.
Hamburg has been the site of many protests lately. Over the weekend, a series of clashes between security forces and protesters took place on the eve of the G20 summit.
Stop “silence culture”
The German branch of the feminist group ‘Femen’ claimed credit for the protest and posted a video on its Facebook page. The footage shows two activists mounting the stage during an appearance by Allen. Who is seen playing the clarinet, with his New Orleans jazz ensemble at the Elbphilarmonie of Hamburg.
“They reminded the world and the the jazz-loving audience that Allen is not just a neurotic and charming director, musician and actor” but also an abusive parent, Femen Germany wrote.
The protesters ran onstage mid-performance with flowers in their hair and torsos covered in quotes from an open letter Dylan Farrow published in the New York Times in 2014. “Stop the culture of silence,” the protesters yelled, met with boos from the audience. They were then escorted out by concert hall employees, and the performance continued.
Femen, founded in Ukraine and now based in Paris, has staged disruptive protests at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and at the Grand Mosque of Paris, among other places.
Accusations and confrontations
Earlier this year, the New Yorker was confronted over the same accusations at the Cannes film festival. Where his movie “Cafe Society” opened the glitzy event.
The accusation that Allen abused Dylan Farrow has long haunted the Oscar-winning director. It dates back to 1992, when his marriage to actress Mia Farrow crumbled after it emerged that he was having an affair with her adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn.
At the time, Farrow told the authorities she believed that her and Allen‘s adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, had been sexually molested. However, at the time Farrow didn’t file charges as she considered a trial would have been exhausting and debilitating for what he described as the “child victim”.
In February 2014, Dylan Farrow reiterated the accusation in an open letter to her father, where she detailed her account on the incident.
Allen took to The New York Times to pen an essay in which he denied the accusation. He also said she had probably been coached by her mother.
Source: Page Six