Mia Farrow and Vanity Fair Changed My Mind

I've always believed in judging the art, not the artist.  An article in the November issue of Vanity Fair forced me to reconsider this viewpoint with regard to Woody Allen.  Instead of publishing a positive article on his movies, I'm deleting it and linking to the Vanity Fair story, which is also available on newsstands now. 

On Sunday, I had just completed a new article about my favorite overlooked Woody Allen movies.  I was set to post it when I noticed the new issue of Vanity Fair featured a story on his former partner Mia Farrow.  I was also preparing a story on her father, the writer-director John Farrow, so I thought I should read this.

The Vanity Fair story focuses on the challenges and scandals of raising her 14 children, speaking directly with 8 of them.  In addition to opening my eyes to her humanitarian efforts throughout the Third World, it jolted my opinion of Woody Allen.  I had vaguely known about their child custody scandals, and his marriage to her adopted daughter, but I never thought too deeply about it.  I enjoyed his movies, and spoke about them at great length.  I admired the art, not the artist.  Perhaps I'd simply turned a blind eye, and like the general public, had forgotten the past.  

But this is different.  As a husband and father, I could not continue to write about Woody Allen with a clear conscience.  I won't go into all the details here.  I recommend reading this story, along with others, and making up your own mind.

Mia Farrow: November, 2013 Vanity Fair

1992 Vanity Fair Story