Woody Allen claims Timothée Chalamet attacked him to boost Oscar hopes for Call Me by Your Name
Alleged child abuser Woody Allen has claimed he was only denounced by Timothée Chalamet because the actor wanted to boost his chances of winning an Oscar for Call Me by Your Name.
The director made films with Hollywood’s biggest stars for years despite allegations of child sex abuse from his step-daughter Dylan Farrow – but in the wake of the #MeToo movement, his pool of actors has slowly dried up.
Woody Allen has faced Hollywood snubbing over child sex abuse claims.
Many stars who previously worked with Allen have now disavowed him and pledged not to do so again – including Chalamet, who starred in his comedy A Rainy Day in New York.
The star donated proceeds from his work with Allen to Time’s Up, the LGBT Center of New York and sexual abuse charity RAINN, making clear in a January 2018 Instagram post: “I am learning that a good role isn’t the only criteria for accepting a job – that has become much clearer to me in the past few months, having witnessed the birth of a powerful movement intent on ending injustice, inequality and above all, silence.”
However, in his recently-published memoir Apropos of Nothing, Allen turns his fire on Chalamet, claiming that the condemnation was a tactic to boost his chances of an Oscar for his role in Call Me by Your Name.
Director claims Timothée Chalamet only denounced him to try and win an Oscar
He wrote: “All the three leads in Rainy Day were excellent and a pleasure to work with… Timothée afterward publicly stated he regretted working with me and was giving the money to charity, but he swore to my sister he needed to do that as he was up for an Oscar for Call Me by Your Name, and he and his agent felt he had a better chance of winning if he denounced me, so he did.”
Chalamet was indeed nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards – which took place in March 2018, two months after his denouncement of Allen. He ultimately lost to Gary Oldman for historical drama The Darkest Hour.
The actor is yet to comment on Allen’s allegations.