Woody Allen's lawyer Elkan Abramowitz has responded to sexual abuse accusations in a formal statement which points blame at Allen's ex-wife Mia Farrow.


"It is tragic that after 20 years a story engineered by a vengeful lover resurfaces after it was fully vetted and rejected by independent authorities," he wrote. "The one to blame for Dylan's distress is neither Dylan nor Woody Allen." According to Abramowitz, Allen will be personally responding "very soon," as he "has read the article and found it untrue and disgraceful."


This response comes after Dylan Farrow's open letter sparked controversy yesterday (Feb. 1) with its resurfacing of allegations that Allen sexually abused her when she was seven years old. The letter, published in the New York Times addressed the abuse which Farrow discussed in a Vanity Fair interview published last year. The allegations first surfaced twenty years earlier during Allen's 1993 custody battle with Mia Farrow.


Allen was never prosecuted for the accusations, but he has come under much scrutiny. Most recently, Mia and Ronan Farrow very openly slammed Allen, after he was honored with the Cecille B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes on Jan. 12.


Dylan seems to have published her letter in light of these events and her words have spurred much controversy, inciting Allen apologists, though no direct comment from Allen himself until this statement.


According to TMZ, Allen ignored reporter's questions when leaving Madison Square Garden last night (Feb. 1).


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