![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")
(JTA) — Filmmaker Woody Allen clarified his remarks about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein made in an interview with the BBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I said I felt sad for Harvey Weinstein, I thought it was clear the meaning was because he is a sad, sick man,” Allen said in a statement to Variety on Sunday night. “I was surprised it was treated differently. Lest there be any ambiguity, this statement clarifies my intention and feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the BBC interview published Sunday morning, Allen was quoted as saying, \u201cThe whole Harvey Weinstein thing is very sad for everybody involved. Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that his life is so messed up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no winners in that, it\u2019s just very, very sad and tragic for those poor women that had to go through that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen also expressed hope that the sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape accusations against Weinstein\u00a0would not lead to a \u201cwitch hunt atmosphere \u2026 where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself. That\u2019s not right either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics of the director\u2019s initial comments included actress\u00a0Rose McGowan, one of the women accusing Weinstein of sexual assault, who described Allen as a “vile little worm.”<\/p>\n
Allen, who like Weinstein is Jewish, in the early 1990s was accused of abusing his daughter, Dylan Farrow, during a custody battle shortly after his separation from his wife, Mia Farrow. She divorced Allen after learning of his affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen married in 1997. The allegations were revived in 2013, when Dylan was 28.<\/p>\n
Allen has long denied the abuse allegations.<\/p>\n
Weinstein helped to revive Allen\u2019s career after the alleged sex abuse came to light, producing several of Allen\u2019s films, including the Academy Award-winning \u201cMighty Aphrodite.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars,\u00a0expelled Weinstein on\u00a0Saturday in an emergency meeting. It was the first time in the body’s 90-year history that it has ousted a member for unethical or potentially criminal behavior.<\/p>\n