Ronan and Dylan Farrow attack publisher Hachette over Woody Allen memoir

Woody Allen's son Ronan Farrow has attacked his own publisher over its plans to release his father's memoir.

The journalist, whose Catch and Kill was published by Hachette, said he was "disappointed" to learn that the firm will release Allen's autobiography.

Farrow's sister Dylan, who claims she was molested by Allen in 1992 when she was seven, called Hachette's decision "deeply upsetting" and a "betrayal".

Hachette has defended its decision to publish Allen's Apropos of Nothing.

"We do not allow anyone's publishing programme to interfere with anyone else's," said Michael Pietsch, the US publisher's CEO.

Allen has always denied molesting Dylan Farrow, saying she was coached to make the claim by his estranged former partner, the actress Mia Farrow.

The film-maker was investigated over the abuse allegations at the time of the incident but was never charged.

Dylan Farrow, now 34, reiterated her allegation in 2014, prompting another denial from her adoptive father.

A number of actors have since publicly distanced themselves from the Oscar-winning director, who has struggled to get his films distributed in recent years.

Ronan Farrow was one of the first journalists to write about the sexual assault allegations made against Harvey Weinstein.

Catch and Kill, his book about his investigations into the film producer, was published by Little, Brown and Company - a division of Hachette - in October 2019.

Allen's autobiography - described as "a comprehensive account of his life, both personal and professional" - will be released via another imprint, Grand Central, on 7 April.

Writing on Twitter, Ronan Farrow claimed Hachette had "concealed" its plans to acquire Allen's memoir while he was working on his book.

He said his sister had not been contacted by the publisher and that he had "encouraged" the company "to conduct a thorough fact check of Woody Allen's account".

He wrote that the company had shown "a lack of ethics and compassion for victims of sexual abuse".

He added: "I've also told Hachette that a publisher that would conduct itself in this way is one I can't work with in good conscience."

In her own Twitter statement, Dylan Farrow said she had not been contacted by any fact checkers and accused Hachette of "an egregious abdication of [its] most basic responsibility".

Actress Rose McGowan, one of Weinstein's most vocal accusers, called Hachette's decision to publish the memoir "an evil double cross".

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