“He’s a loving, caring father,” Barbara says of Hollywood director and actor

Feb 4, 2014 11:26 GMT  ·  By

Barbara Walters, co-host and producer on The View, is coming to Woody Allen’s defense in the ongoing molestation scandal, which was reignited over the weekend when Dylan Farrow, Woody’s step-daughter, wrote an open letter accusing the Hollywood star of inappropriate behavior around her when she was just 7.

Dylan is Mia Farrow’s daughter: the actress was with Woody until it emerged that he was romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, Mia’s adopted daughter. Woody and Soon-Yi are still married to this day, but that doesn’t change the fact that he wooed her when she was just 17.

Dylan first went public with the molestation accusations as her mother’s marriage fell apart.

According to Barbara, she’s doing it again because she has some secret agenda against the esteemed Hollywood director and is looking to ruin his chances in the upcoming Oscar race.

Video of the heated exchange between Walters and her View co-hosts is embedded below, at the end of the article. Barbara is the only one who can say she knows Woody and who, because of it, feels justified to speak on his behalf – and in his defense.

“I know Mia. I have a good relationship with her, but I’ve been with Woody many times with his two daughters. He’s got almost a twenty-year-old marriage. I have rarely seen a father as sensitive, and as loving and as caring as Woody is to these two girls,” she says.

“I don’t know about Dylan, I can only tell you about what I’ve seen now, that it’s a good marriage and that he’s a loving, caring father. I think that has to be said. Supposedly, she’s very angry and she’s doing it now, because he’s up for an award. The question is does your personal life interfere with the awards?” Walters continues.

Allen’s attorney also dismissed the claims using similar wording: Dylan’s abuse accusation and her “distress” were neither her nor Woody’s fault but her mother’s. Supposedly, Mia is out to tarnish her ex’s reputation by having her daughter lie about him.