Publisher Drops Woody Allen Memoir After Employees Protest

(Bloomberg) -- Hachette Book Group has decided not to publish film director Woody Allen’s upcoming memoir, a day after employees at the company walked out in solidarity with Ronan Farrow.

In a statement, Hachette said it will return all rights to Allen and the decision to cancel his book was “a difficult one.”

“We take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly,” the publisher said in a statement. “We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books.”

But the publisher added that its leadership had “extensive conversations with staff and others” in recent days.

“After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG,” said the company, a unit of France’s Lagardere SCA.

On Thursday, workers at New York-based Hachette criticized the company on social media and posted pictures of the walkout, spurred by allegations that Allen sexually abused his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, Ronan’s sister, decades ago.

Ronan Farrow, a journalist known for his muckraking pieces, also criticized the publisher for a lack of fact-checking. He said the book deal was concealed from him while he was working on “Catch and Kill,” his book released by a Hachette imprint about reporting the Harvey Weinstein story.

Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing was slated to publish Allen’s book, “Apropos of Nothing,” on April 7. It was described as “a comprehensive account of Woody Allen’s life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs and print. Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends and the loves of his life.”

On Tuesday, Ronan Farrow said he could no longer work with
Hachette “in good conscience.”

“Hachette did not fact-check the Woody Allen book,” he said on Twitter. “My sister Dylan has never been contacted to respond to any denial or mischaracterization of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen.”

Allen has repeatedly denied that he abused Dylan Farrow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.