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In an April 2024 episode of his Club Random podcast, Bill Maher told Katie Couric that he believed Woody Allen and called the allegation that Allen sexually abused Dylan Farrow “a very improbable crime.” Those were Maher’s opinions—not investigative findings or a court ruling. Understanding the dispute means keeping his comments, the competing accounts, the investigations, the custody case and the documentary Allen v. Farrow distinct.
What did Bill Maher say?
In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, reported by Vanity Fair on April 17, 2024, Maher said, “First of all, it’s a very improbable crime that they’re accusing him of.” He added, “So, first of all, I just flat out believe him.” Maher argued that Allen would not have become a child molester during a divorce and custody dispute in a house full of adults, and characterized Mia Farrow as having motivation and being vindictive. Those descriptions are Maher’s claims, not established facts.
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Maher also insulted actors who would not work with Allen or later regretted doing so, calling them “a bunch of pussies.” TheWrap’s April 16, 2024 report likewise describes the exchange and Couric’s role in the conversation.
What allegation and denial were they discussing?
Dylan Farrow has said Allen sexually abused her in 1992, when she was seven. She first raised the allegation privately with her mother and later described it publicly, including in a 2014 open letter and a 2018 television interview. In an interview with Gayle King quoted by TIME on January 18, 2018, Farrow described herself as coping with the effects of being sexually assaulted as a child. That is her account.
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#1 Best Overall
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Allen has repeatedly denied abusing Dylan. He has said Mia Farrow coached her during the couple’s contentious breakup and custody dispute. In a statement reproduced by CBS News on January 18, 2018, Allen wrote, “I never molested my daughter – as all investigations concluded a quarter of a century ago.” That statement is Allen’s denial and characterization of the investigations, not an independent account of their findings.
Couric also raised matters she described as evidence separate from the accounts by Mia and Dylan Farrow, including a reported relationship with a high school student and Allen’s reported preferences in clothing. TheWrap’s coverage attributes those points to Couric’s interview. Their mention in the exchange does not establish them or resolve the abuse allegation.
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What did investigators, prosecutors and the custody court conclude?
These parts of the record answer different questions. They should not be compressed into the claim that Allen was either criminally exonerated or found guilty.
| Part of the record | What reporting says | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Yale-New Haven Hospital report | TIME reported that the hospital’s report concluded abuse did not happen. | It was not a criminal trial or verdict. |
| New York State child-welfare investigation | TIME reported that investigators also concluded abuse did not happen. | It should not be recast as a criminal acquittal. |
| Connecticut prosecutor | TIME reported that the prosecutor found probable cause to charge Allen but did not want to put Farrow through a trial. No charges were filed. | Probable cause is not a conviction, and the decision not to prosecute is not an acquittal. |
| 1993 custody ruling | The Los Angeles Times timeline reports that Mia Farrow won custody of Dylan, Moses and Ronan, and Allen was denied visitation with Dylan. TIME reported that the judge said the court would probably never know what happened on the date of the alleged incident, while finding Allen’s behavior toward Dylan grossly inappropriate and requiring protective measures. | This was a custody decision, not a criminal verdict. |
TIME’s account of the reports and prosecutor’s decision is available in its January 18, 2018 coverage. The underlying investigative reports and full custody opinion are not reproduced in these accounts, so their summaries should be attributed to the reporting.
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How does Allen v. Farrow fit into the dispute?
The four-part HBO documentary revisited the allegation and the custody dispute. The Guardian’s review says the series draws on interviews, archival material, court documents, police files and social workers’ notes, while observing that it overwhelmingly presents the Farrow side. It also notes that an episode briefly covers counterclaims from Moses Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn, who did not participate in the series.
Maher criticized the documentary’s perspective in the Couric interview. His criticism is an opinion about the film’s framing; the documentary, in turn, is a presentation of selected material, not a judicial determination of what happened.
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Was this Maher’s first public skepticism?
No. A transcript of a February 14, 2014 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, posted by RealClearPolitics, records Maher saying he did not think Allen was a child molester and cautioning that people should be sure before using that term. His 2024 declaration that he “flat out” believed Allen was a more emphatic restatement of his position, not a new finding about the allegation.
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