Sean Penn to Diane Keaton, celebrities who have defended Woody Allen explored as actor reiterates defense against abuse allegations

Sean Penn stood in support of Woody Allen amid abuse allegations made against the director by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, according to a May 12, 2025, report by Page Six. On Tuesday’s episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, Sean Penn, 64, defended Woody, expressing his skepticism about allegations of Allen s*xually molesting Dylan.

In a January 2018 interview on CBS's This Morning, Dylan recalled that incident, claiming she was harassed at "a small attic crawl space in my mother’s country house in Connecticut."

Sean Penn also shared his wish to work with Allen once again, saying,

"I’d work with him in a heartbeat — if it was the right thing."

Dylan accused her adoptive father, Woody Allen, of s*xually abusing her in 1992 when she was 7 years old. The news was revealed publicly in a custody battle after Woody was found dating Mia's other adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.

On a February 1, 2014, interview with The New York Times, Dylan highlighted the alleged abuse, stating:

"What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set."

She further wrote,

"Then he s*xually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains."

She went on to share,

"For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me."

Soon, two investigations titled "New York Department of Social Services" and "Yale-New Haven Hospital team" were conducted to find credible evidence for the claim. However, no definite proof was discovered.

On the other hand, Woody also denied these allegations. He also blamed Mia, claiming she fabricated the accusations.

Sean Penn, Gina Gershon & other celebrities who defended Woody Allen

Sean Penn

In the 90s, Sean Penn and director Woody Allen collaborated on the 1999 film, Sweet and Lowdown.

During his conversation with Louis on the podcast, The Thin Red Line actor responded to the host's question on whether the popular director had "a bad rap," Page Six reported on May 12, 2025.

"With these things, I don’t know anyone well enough to say, '100 percent, this didn’t happen, that didn’t happen.'"

Sean Penn further reiterated,

"The stories are mostly told by people that I wouldn’t trust with a dime. It just seems so heavily weighted in that way."

Diane Keaton

Before Sean Penn, Diane Keaton spoke up for Woody Allen.

Keaton shared an appreciated creative partnership with Allen. Some of the movies they have collaborated on together are Play It Again, Sam (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Annie Hall (1977), Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

Over the years of them knowing each other, the actress has often acknowledged the director's filmmaking talent. Additionally, she spoke for him during controversial allegations made against him.

The Summer Camp actress reflected on working with the director in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. When asked about whether allegations against Allen made her feel "overshadowed by the work [they] did together," she reacted, stating,

"No, not at all. No. I’m proud. I’m proud beyond measure."

According to an April 2023 publication by The Independent, the actress also opened up about one of Woody's movies that "stuck" with her. She responded by answering Play it Again, Sam.

"The first Woody Allen movie. That’s it. was in it, I had lines. I was just totally surprised by that."

Gina Gershon & Wallace Shawn

Gina Gershon and Wallace Shawn defended Woody Allen during an interview with WGN9. Recounting their experience of working with the director, they also expressed their opinions on Dylan's allegations.

According to a January 2022 USA Today report, the actress shared that she partnered with Allen for Rifkin's Festival "because he's a genius."

While discussing the much-talked-about accusations leveled at the filmmaker, she explained,

"If they're against (working with Allen), they just shouldn't."

She added,

"It serves no one to keep great artists from working, even the alleged victims, right? It makes me a little sad that that's how you lead this whole talk, talking about all that controversy instead of talking about what an incredible artist he is. And for me as an actress, I mean, he's been inspiring me ever since I can remember. So I was really thrilled to work with him."

Wallace Shawn also commented on the incident in this interview and disclosed that he was "familiarized (himself) with this case for quite a while." While expressing his perspective, he also claimed to wonder,

"What Dylan (Farrow) says happened didn't actually happen."

The Young Sheldon actor also addressed,

"I feel that Woody Allen is an innocent man, and it's an injustice that we're even talking about this. The legal system has decided he's innocent, so now it's in the court of public opinion."

He continued with his thoughts, elaborating,

"It's up to each one of us to study the case if you want to get into it. But I think the more you study it, the more you see that either he did what he's accused of or he didn't, either she is strangely mistaken about what she sincerely believes or he is strangely someone who wildly committed a very unlikely crime. And I think he didn't do it."

Alec Baldwin

In 2018, Alec Baldwin strongly took a stand for Woody Allen several times on social media. The Glengarry Glen Ross actor posted on X (formerly Twitter),

"Woody Allen was investigated forensically by two states (NY and CT) and no charges were filed. The renunciation of him and his work, no doubt, has some purpose. But it’s unfair and sad to me. I worked w WA 3 times and it was one of the privileges of my career."

Baldwin has appeared in multiple movies by Allen. Their collaborative filmography includes Alice (1990), To Rome with Love (2012), Blue Jasmine (2013), and A Rainy Day in New York (2019).

Despite the serious claim made against Allen, many renowned celebrities expressed their interest in partnering with him for future projects. Amid all the humiliation, he received support from many Hollywood actors.