Child victims still waiting for their #MeToo moment

Hollywood actors, newly sensitive to the effects of sexual abuse, are expressing a growing discomfort with director Woody Allen, whose daughter has claimed for years that he molested her as a child.

The accusations against Allen surfaced in 1992 but did little to stunt his successful directing career. More than half of his 50 directorial credits came after 1992. But in recent weeks, actors such as Rebecca Hall, Mira Sorvino, Ellen Page, David Krumholtz, and Griffith Newman have all distanced themselves from Allen or vowed they wouldn’t work with him again. Timothée Chalamet, star of the upcoming Allen film A Rainy Day in New York, said this week he would donate his salary from the film to charities that support sexual abuse victims.

“I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the brave artists who are fighting for all people to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve,” Chalamet said. His statement, especially bold from a 22-year-old actor whose career is just gathering momentum, would have a greater impact if some of the superstars who have worked with the director would speak out for child victims of sexual abuse.

Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow called out some of those stars in a 2014 open letter: “What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett? Louis CK? Alec Baldwin? What if it had been you, Emma Stone? Or you, Scarlett Johansson? You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me?”

Allen denies the accusations, which emerged during his custody battle with estranged girlfriend Mia Farrow. Connecticut state attorney Frank Maco said he had “probable cause” to charge Allen with molesting Dylan Farrow and that police had drawn up an arrest warrant, but he decided not to pursue the case, in part because it would traumatize the girl. The judge in the custody case denied Allen visitation rights and said his behavior toward his daughter “was grossly inappropriate and that measures must be taken to protect her.” Shortly before Allen and Mia Farrow split, he began a relationship with her older adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen married in 1997.

Allen claims Mia Farrow coached their daughter to make the assault claims, a possibility supported by a team of doctors who assessed the child at the time. “The Farrow family is cynically using the opportunity afforded by the Time’s Up movement to repeat this discredited allegation,” Allen said in a statement this week, referencing a recently formed campaign to advance the #MeToo cause.

Dylan Farrow, now an adult, doubled down on her quest to hold Allen accountable this week in an interview with CBS This Morning. “He’s lying, and he’s been lying for so long. And it’s difficult for me to see him and hear his voice,” she said.

Child victims of sexual assault don’t have the same access to the empowering media messages that have emboldened women to speak out against their abusers, and they can’t always take to Twitter to stand up for themselves. They depend on the adults around them to speak for them and protect them.

Pedophilia is a known problem in Hollywood, as documented in films and stories like An Open Secret. The #MeToo movement has done much good for women who experienced sexual abuse. Now is the time to make sure children get the same or greater benefit from the wave of accountability sweeping through Hollywood and the culture.

Dolores O’Riordan Associated Press/Photo by Bruno Bebert (file)

The queen of Irish rock

Dolores O’Riordan, whose urgent-sounding, plaintive voice led the Irish band the Cranberries to rock stardom in the 1990s, died this week at age 46.

The Cranberries released their first album in 1993, infusing the guitar-heavy grunge of the day with Celtic-sounding melodies. Their early memorable songs included “Dream” and “Linger,” but 1994’s “Zombie,” which memorialized violent political upheaval in Northern Ireland, became the band’s most successful single.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described O’Riordan as the voice of a generation, and President Michael D. Higgins said she and the band “had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally.”

The Cranberries broke up from 2003 to 2009, during which time O’Riordan released two solo albums. The band recently recorded an acoustic album and planned to tour in 2017, but O’Riordan’s health problems cut the tour short. O’Riordan revealed last year she struggled with bipolar disorder and depression, and she also suffered from back problems. The cause of her death is unknown, but police said they do not suspect foul play. —L.L.

Dolores O’Riordan Associated Press/Photo by Bruno Bebert (file)

Selfie schtick

Google Arts & Culture, a smartphone catalogue of everything visual arts, became the No. 1 downloaded app for iOS and Android devices this week thanks to a clever new feature that blends art history and pop culture. “Is your portrait in a museum?” the app asks, letting users take a selfie and search for paintings that look like them. The app debuted in 2016 but didn’t make much of a splash until developers added the selfie search. Maybe smartphone addicts will click through to learn more about the paintings they resemble—the app is a treasure trove of centuries worth of fine art and art history. Privacy laws mean the app is blocked in some states and outside the United States. —L.L.

Decent dads

The Los Angeles Times recently noted a trend of positive father figures in films. This list of caring dads in movies is interesting, though obviously secular. Actor Ray Romano says he drew on his own experience as a father for his role as dad to a dangerously ill daughter in The Big Sick: “I have a daughter around the same age as Emily, so it was fairly easy to tap into the fear and helplessness a father would experience in that situation.” —L.L.