Woody Allen’s tribute to Diane Keaton stirs existing controversy: Details inside

Woody Allen has broken his silence on the death of his friend and co-star, Diane Keaton, by penning a heartfelt tribute.

Published by The Free Press, Allen claimed that the world is “drearier” for having lost Keaton — “A few days ago the world was a place that included Diane Keaton. Now it’s a world that does not,” he wrote.

However, the tribute has also fanned the fires of the existing controversies which surround the New York based filmmaker since long.

The accusations pertaining to child exploitation and sexual abuse from his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, and his marriage to another, continues to haunt his legacy.

But did Woody Allen’s late honouree, Diane Keaton, care at all?

The Allen-Keaton partnership

The actress and director’s professional collaboration began with the 1972 film Play it Again, Sam, which starred both of them and was written by Allen. Though their first meeting was at an audition for the film’s original stage production in 1969.

“She was so charming, so beautiful, so magical, that I questioned my sanity. I thought: ‘Could I be in love so quickly?’” Allen recalled the pair’s initial meeting in his latest essay.

Since then, Keaton went on to collaborate with Allen on eight of his films, winning the Oscar for her performance in the duo’s most popular work, Annie Hall.

Woody Allen’s controversies

Allen became the centre of a highly public scandal when his ex-wife, actress Mia Farrow, accused him of behaving inappropriately with her adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, during their custody hearing in the 1990s.

While the filmmaker has continuously denied the allegations for years, matters were further complicated when he married Farrow’s other adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Notably, his relationship with his current wife began during the course of his and Farrow’s marriage.

Since “the accusations emerged again amid the #MeToo movement”, as Variety reported, Allen largely remains ostracised from Hollywood.

The defence

Despite the persistent allegations, fuelled even more by Dylan Farrow’s 2017 op-ed against her adoptive father, Diane Keaton was adamant in her defence of Woody Allen.

“Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” she shared through her social media at the time.

She further encouraged her followers “to take a look at the ‘60 Minutes’ interview from 1992 and see what you think.”

Meanwhile, Woody Allen also reciprocated his lifelong friend’s public support by presenting her the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.

“Much of what I’ve accomplished in my life I owe, for sure, to her. Seeing life through her eyes. She really is astonishing. This is a woman who is great at everything she does,” he spoke about Diane Keaton at the ceremony.