Woody Allen, his wife and Epstein emails exposed

The Paper Since January 30, when the U.S. Department of Justice released the so-called last batch of Epstein case files (including 2,000 videos, 180,000 pictures, and an astonishing 3.5 million pages of written materials), many celebrities have been criticized by public opinion for being related to the sexual assaulter.

Among the materials disclosed in the case file, the most well-known figure in the film and television industry so far should be the 90-year-old famous director Woody Allen.Documents show that Epstein helped enable his eldest daughter, Bechet Allen, to enter Bard College, a prestigious American school, and also helped his younger daughter, Manzie Allen, successfully graduate. In addition, Woody Allen’s Korean-American wife Soon-Yi Previn seemed to have a good personal relationship with Epstein. The two chatted through emails and text messages about everything from their children’s reading, political news to Timothée Chalamet and other actors who had worked with Woody Allen.

Epstein (first from left) and Woody Allen couple

Woody Allen and his wife officially got married in 1997. There is a 35-year age difference between the two, and Soon-Yi is also the adopted daughter of Allen’s ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow, so this relationship has attracted a lot of criticism from the beginning. However, the couple ignored the controversy and had a smooth journey. However, in 2017, the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein scandal broke out, and Mia Farrow’s other adopted daughter Dylan Farrow’s original accusation that Woody Allen sexually assaulted her was brought up again.

Back then, the case was repeatedly investigated by the judiciary and eventually concluded with no evidence, but Mia Farrow always insisted that Woody Allen was sexually assaulted. This family lawsuit, which originally had different opinions, eventually turned into a major incident in Hollywood that everyone must take sides, which directly led to Woody Allen’s almost ruined reputation in the past few years, and it is difficult to gain a foothold in Hollywood – although he has repeatedly insisted that he is innocent, and various investigations and witness testimonies over the years have been unable to prove that he has indeed committed a crime.

In 2023, Woody Allen attended the Venice Film Festival with his youngest daughter Manzi (first from left), eldest daughter Beshe (second from left) and his wife Soon-Yi (first from right).

Woody Allen and Soon-Yi adopted two daughters after their marriage. Beshe is the older sister. She is 27 years old. She graduated from Bard College in 2021 with a major in art history. In recent years, she has taken on chores such as assistant to the costume team in some of the works that her adoptive father went to Europe to shoot. Her name comes from Sidney Becher, known as the “Pope of Jazz” and Woody Allen’s most respected saxophone master. Becher’s works were often used as soundtracks in past works.

In a 2017 email, Soon-Yi expressed her heartfelt thanks to Epstein for using his personal relationship with President Leon Botstein to help his eldest daughter get into Bard College. “I think it’s best for her to work hard on her own first. I don’t want her to know in advance that she has been admitted. In this way, when she enters school, she can experience the joy of hardship and gain the motivation to study hard. Thank you for your help. This means a lot to me and cannot be expressed in words. Woody joked that one day our daughter sets fire to Bard College and it will be blamed on you.”

In response to this statement, the famous conductor Leon Botstein, who has served as the president of Bard College since 1975, retorted in an interview with the media that Epstein was “a liar, a habitual liar, and even if the sun rose every day, he would brag that it was his credit.” He also emphasized that Beshay Allen was admitted based on her own qualifications and not on anyone else’s request.

Woody Allen and Soon-Yi’s youngest daughter, Manzi, is 25 years old. She was also adopted by them at birth and was named after jazz drummer Manzi Johnson. Epstein documents show that in December 2016, Soon-Yi asked Epstein to help donate $15,000 to the Hewitt School in New York. “Woody said, then Manzi will definitely graduate from Hewitt School.” Soon-Yi sent a text message from Woody Allen’s mobile phone.

Hewitt School is a consistent private girls’ school located on the Upper East Side of New York. Manz graduated from it in 2018. In 2022, she received a degree in art from Whittier College in California. In recent years, like her sister, she has done a lot of chores on her father’s crew. Back at the end of 2016, Epstein worked neatly and completed the donation quickly, so Soon-Yi immediately sent another text message: “I got the news about your donation as soon as I got home. You are the best, I am so happy, and I am so grateful. The school is always short of money, and this money is very helpful.”

In the summer of 2019, Epstein was imprisoned and later died mysteriously in prison. At that time, his donations over the years were also re-examined. The Hewitt School confirmed that it did receive the $15,000 donation in 2016, but has now decided to return it.

In addition to helping with the children’s education, documents show that Epstein also arranged for Woody Allen and his wife to visit the White House.

“Can you give Soon-Yi a tour of the White House?” Epstein asked former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler in a May 2015 email. “I guess it would be too politically sensitive for Woody to go too, wouldn’t it be convenient?” “I believe I can bring them both in,” Rummler replied, but she told Epstein that it would be difficult for him to be brought into the White House as he had already been convicted. “I think your sensitivity is too high,” she added. White House records show that Woody Allen, his wife and Ruhmler visited the White House on Sunday, December 27, 2015.

In a mobile phone text message in September 2016, Soon-Yi talked about the current news at the time: Anthony Weiner, a New York politician who was infamous for sending obscene materials to minors. Weiner was a former Democratic congressman who resigned in 2011 after he sent obscene selfies to multiple women. In 2016, he returned to his old ways and sent text messages asking a woman to strip naked and have sexual fantasies with him. This time, the target was only 15 years old and was a minor. In the end, Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

“I hate women who take advantage of men, and she is this kind of person. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she also knew that Weiner couldn’t resist temptation, so she still lured him in like a fish. What she did was despicable and bad. This person is so scheming, and she should be ashamed of herself.” Soon-Yi is obviously on the side of sex offender Anthony Weiner.

Another email from 2018 talked about actor Timothée Chalamet, who is competing for the Oscar for Best Actor this year with “Marty”. “I’m glad that Chalamet’s little bastard’s new movie didn’t get good reviews,” Soon-Yi told Epstein.

Timothee Chalamet on the set of “A Rainy Day in New York.”

In 2017, Timothee Chalamet starred in “A Rainy Day in New York” directed by Woody Allen. At the end of that year, the Weinstein scandal broke out, and Woody Allen was also on the Hollywood blacklist, causing the distributor Amazon to temporarily withdraw the film. In January 2018, Chalamet announced that he would donate all his remuneration from the film to charity organizations, completely breaking away from Woody Allen. In the email, Song Yi mentioned that the movie that failed to receive favorable reviews from the media should be referring to “Beautiful Boy” which was being released at the time.

In fact, in a batch of Epstein case files released at the end of last year, there were many photos of Woody Allen and his wife with Epstein. Both are well-known figures in the New York Jewish community and live not far from each other. The Allens would attend family dinners hosted by Epstein from time to time. However, in an interview with The Times in September last year, Woody Allen said that he first met Epstein when he accepted an invitation from a publicist and attended a dinner hosted by Epstein for Prince Andrew in 2010.

“We didn’t know Jeffrey at all at the time, but we saw how enthusiastic everyone was about him, so we thought, ‘Okay, he’s somebody.'” However, it was two years after Epstein was first convicted. When Woody Allen was asked if he knew at the time that Epstein was a convicted sex offender, he responded: “He told us that he had been in prison, and he – I can’t remember the exact words – but he said he was wrongfully accused, and by the way, he said it was ‘blackmail.’ He told us that he is now trying to make amends by doing charity, donating to top scientists and universities.”

After that, the couple went on to attend Epstein’s dinner parties, and Woody Allen recalled that he was impressed by the distinguished guests. “We would go to dinner parties, and there were always distinguished people there, university professors, scientists, Nobel Prize winners… all people with great achievements and interesting conversations.” But Woody Allen emphasized that he “never saw Jeffrey with an underage girl” and “he always had a girlfriend, but never an underage girlfriend.”

When asked if he regretted his association with Epstein, Woody Allen saw no reason to distance himself from the notorious sex offender. “Well, I’m a writer, so I’m not going to be scared,” he explained. “Those dinners were fun, and when the truth came out, it was even more fun for a writer, because you have such an evil character next to you.”

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