Attacked by critics, the Hachette group canceled Friday the publication of the memoirs of the famous New York director Woody Allen, accused of sexually abusing his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old, which he has always denied. The book, supposed to retrace in detail the professional and personal life of the 84-year-old filmmaker, author of dozens of feature films including the legendary "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall", was to be published on April 7 in the United States by a subsidiary d'Hachette, Grand Central Publishing.
Hachette employees demonstrated
"The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was difficult (...), we do not cancel books lightly," said Sophie Cottrell, spokesperson for Hachette, in an email to AFP. Book Group USA (HBG). The announcement came the day after a demonstration by dozens of Hachette employees, who left their offices in New York to denounce the publication of the filmmaker's book.
"For the past few days, HGB management has had long discussions with staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that maintaining publication was not feasible for HBG," added Sophie Cottrell, stating that Hachette would return "all rights" purchased to the director. Shortly after Hachette's decision was announced, the director's autobiography, "About Us Nothing", still appeared on the Amazon online store. It was labeled "best seller", which suggests that the site had received a large volume of pre-orders.
Woody Allen's book was to be released on April 29 in France
When questioned, Hachette did not immediately specify whether he was also canceling the release of the book in other countries. Woody Allen's memoirs were to be released on April 29 in France. The action by Hachette employees came after criticism from New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow, Dylan's brother and one of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners for his investigation into the sexual assaults by film producer Harvey Weinstein.
After having already greeted the Hachette employees on Thursday, Dylan Farrow showed them his "gratitude" on Friday. "For someone who has long felt alone with their story, yesterday reminds us that we can make a difference when people come together for what is right," she said in a statement. statement on Twitter. Woody Allen did not immediately react. But on social networks, some have criticized Hachette, like the writer Stephen King.