AP Photo/Frankie ZithsIn the wake of Dylan Farrow penning a letter to the New York Times about her alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Woody Allen when she was seven, CBS has resurfaced a 1992 60 Minutes interview with the Oscar-winning director. During the 22-year-old discussion with correspondent Steve Kroft, Allen claimed ex-partner Mia Farrow threatened his life after he not only denied molesting Dylan, but began a relationship with Soon-Yi Previn, the daughter she adopted with André Previn.
Part of Allen's fears stemmed from a disturbing Valentine's Day card he claims came from Mia.
"She sent me a Valentine's Day card," Allen recalled. "She didn't send it to me; she gave it to me. And I said, 'Oh, thanks,' you know. And I went downstairs, I got into my car and I opened it up, and there...was a very, very, very chilling Valentine, meticulously worked on."
He continued, "One hesitates to say psychotically worked on," saying the card was "a Victorian Valentine and photo of the family and through all the kids was thrust needles and a steak knife stuck through the heart of the thing.
"And I got scared because, you know, that was--that was one of the times that I thought, 'My God, this is really'--you know to--if you look at the thing, it's quite frightening."
But it wasn't just the card that concerned him.
"She's threatened my life many times," alleged Allen of Mia. "I mean, she called me and threatened my--she's threatened to have me killed and to kill me. And to--and to stick my eyes out, to stick my eyes out, to blind me because she became obsessed with Greek tragedy and--and felt that this--that that would be fitting, you know, vengeance."
Earlier this week, Allen's lawyer Elkan Abramowitz appeared on Today on the filmmaker's behalf and addressed Dylan's recently renewed allegations against the Blue Jasmine director.
Allen's "reaction is one of overwhelming sadness because of what has happened to Dylan," Abramowitz said. "She was a pawn in a huge fight between him and Mia Farrow 20 years ago, and the idea that she was molested was implanted in her by her mother. And that memory is never going to go away. The fact that she says this now, that it happened 20 years ago, is totally understandable."
Meanwhile, Dylan told People magazine on Wednesday, "It took all of my strength and all of my emotional fortitude to do what I did this week in the hope that it would put the truth out there."
The 28-year-old added, "People are saying that I am not actually remembering what I remember. People are saying that my 'evil mother' brainwashed me because they refuse to believe that my sick, evil father would molest me, because we live in this society where victim blaming and inexcusable behavior—this taboo against shaming the famous at the expense of their victims—is accepted and excused."