A year before filming Midnight in Paris, in December 2010, Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, were invited to dinner at the mansion of Jeffrey Epstein in the Upper East Side of New York and to share a table with Prince Andrew. The exploitative financier had already been imprisoned (and released) for child prostitution, but continued to host politicians, scientists, professors, celebrities, and magicians at his "sumptuous and abundant" dinners (in Allen's words).
The filmmaker accepted the invitation and would later compare those gatherings to "dinners at Dracula's castle, where actor Bela Lugosi had three vampire women at his service." The director of Manhattan made this ironic confession in a letter addressed to the financier for his 63rd birthday, found among the thousands of documents from Epstein's archives and revealed by The New York Times.
An investigation by Le Monde now delves like never before into the nine years of unique friendship between the financier and the filmmaker, with multiple exchanges of favors and gifts. According to the French newspaper, Woody Allen ended up becoming something like "the gateway to France" for Epstein, ready to use his influence to solidify his network in Paris, where he had an ostentatious apartment at 22 Avenue Foch for 18 years (used for both business meetings and his sexual excesses with aspiring models).
Allen has publicly stated that he never saw Epstein surrounded by minors. There are no direct references to the Parisian parties of the financier in the famous archives. But in the dozens of messages they exchanged over the years, the closeness between the two is evident, such as when Epstein decided to lavish him with a luxurious bathrobe followed by the unusual gift of 31 underwear sets (and 31 t-shirts) from the luxury Swiss brand Zimmerli totaling $9,858. Allen and his family occasionally traveled on Epstein's private plane, which made the New York-Paris trip up to 24 times a year.
Soon-Yi also received a precious gift, an Apple Hermès watch, although Allen's wife was even more grateful for Epstein's efforts with Bard College President Leon Botstein to admit their daughter Bechet to the elite New York university: "You can't imagine how much this means to me. Woody said that when Bechet succeeds in school, she will thank you (...) But it's better for her to fight for it and not know in advance that she has been accepted, so that when she arrives at Bard, she is truly motivated. Thank you for helping us."
According to Le Monde's investigation, Woody Allen could have been one of the key pieces for Epstein to expand his french connection, which eventually reached the then Minister of Culture Jack Lang (and his daughter Caroline), former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, diplomat Olivier Colom, and mathematician and politician Cédric Villani.
A three-way photo also provides a detailed account of Allen's mediation with Hermès CEO Axel Dumas, who has publicly stated that he declined numerous attempts by Epstein to meet. Allen also appears alongside Epstein on several occasions, one of them during a film shoot. In his Paris home, the financier even had a picture of himself with Woody Allen, along with his photos with other celebrities and young models decorating the walls.
Le Monde's investigation leaves unanswered how far the curious relationship between Epstein and Allen went. The director of Annie Hall has chosen not to respond to the new allegations. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Allen recalled how he was first invited with his wife to "a dinner at Jeffrey's house with Prince Andrew."
"We didn't know him, but seeing all the people he managed to gather, we concluded that he was a substantial character," Allen concluded when explaining how he got caught in his web. "He acknowledged that he had been in prison, but under false accusations. He told us that he wanted to rebuild his image through philanthropy and by giving money to scientists and universities. He couldn't have been kinder."
In 1992, Woody Allen was accused by actress Mia Farrow of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan, who was seven years old at the time. Allen denied the accusations and stated that it was a revenge from Mia Farrow due to his romantic relationship with another adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. The judge for child custody dismissed the case in 1993 and did not find credibility in the accusation.
The Paris Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation this year into the ramifications of Jeffrey Epstein in France following several complaints and in light of the evidence that has emerged from the archives.
The investigation will also look into the mysterious death of Jean-Luc Brunel, a recruiter of models for Epstein in France, who was found dead in his cell in 2022 (three years after Epstein's death under similar circumstances). Last June, Daniel Siad, also a recruiter for the financier in cities like Paris and Barcelona, was found dead in his home.