Diane Keaton defends Woody Allen against sexual abuse accusations: 'He is my friend and I continue to believe him'

Stars Colin Firth, Mira Sorvino, Greta Gerwig, Timothée Chalamet, and Rebecca Hall have distanced themselves from the director

Diane Keaton has come out in defence of longtime friend and Annie Hall director, Woody Allen.

In 1992, Allen's former partner Mia Farrow contacted authorities after her daughter, Dylan, allegedly described sexual abuse by the director. Though Allen has repeatedly denied the allegations and was not criminally charged, Farrow was granted with full custody after a judge found Dylan's testimony to be credible.

The allegations have once more come under the spotlight in the wake of the Time's Up and #MeToo movement, with Dylan Farrow appearing on the CBS Morning Show to renew her allegations.

Several of Allen's past collaborators have now distanced themselves and condemned the director, with Colin Firth, Mira Sorvino, Greta Gerwig, Timothée Chalamet, and Rebecca Hall all coming forward to express their regret over working with Allen. Both Hall and Chalamet star in Allen's latest, A Rain Day in New York, and have opted to donate their salaries to charity.

Others have come forward to express their support for, and belief in, Dylan Farrow, including Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

However, Keaton took to Twitter in support of the director and added: "Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him. It might be of interest to take a look at the 60 Minute interview from 1992 and see what you think."

The interview sees Allen deny the allegations. He recently issued a fresh denial after Farrow's CBS appearance.

"I never molested my daughter — as all investigations concluded a quarter of a century ago," Allen said. "When this claim was first made more than 25 years ago, it was thoroughly investigated by both the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of the Yale-New Haven Hospital and New York State Child Welfare."

"They both did so for many months and independently concluded that no molestation had ever taken place. Instead, they found it likely a vulnerable child had been coached to tell the story by her angry mother during a contentious breakup."

He also accused the Farrow family of "cynically using the opportunity afforded by the Time's Up movement to repeat this discredited allegation."

Alec Baldwin has also criticised the decisions of actors who have expressed their regret over working with Allen. "It's unfair and sad to me," he wrote on Twitter.

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