Ronan Farrow: The man behind Harvey Weinstein expose
We all have skeletons we wish to bury deep in closets, secrets we dread to acknowledge, let alone confront. What if those ghosts followed you everywhere and were as visible as you, sometimes even more? What if you finally fight them in a way that they cease to be yours alone and help initiate a global reckoning? Such is the story of Ronan Farrow.
Who is Ronan Farrow?
Son of Hollywood royalty Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, Ronan's October 5 expose in The New Yorker added gravitas to the NYT report that first accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of gross sexual misconduct. It took Ronan about a year of reporting and interviews with over 300 people to detail haunting first-person accounts of sexual abuse victims, thus initiating a global movement long overdue.
Of being hounded endlessly: Getting the Weinstein story published
To call uncovering Weinstein's muck dangerous would be an understatement. Ronan was asked to drop it multiple times. During the year that he pursued it, he received threats, was followed and even approached by an undercover agent. Though Ronan had originally pitched the story to NBC, he published it in The New Yorker, claiming that he didn't find adequate support at the news network.
'Allen, legally, ethically, personally was a father in our family'
Ronan's interest in covering stories of sexual assault and unmasking powerful perpetrators stems from a troubled, widely documented family history. His sister Dylan has, over the years, repeatedly accused their father Allen of molesting her when she was 7. However, despite the allegations, Allen was never prosecuted. In fact, he continues to enjoy a stellar career and reputation in Hollywood.
A childhood with Woody Allen deeply colors Ronan's work
On being asked whether his childhood experiences have cast any shadow on him and his work, he told the Hollywood Reporter, "Probably, yes, the family background made me someone who understood the abuse of power from an early age."
I believe my sister: Ronan Farrow
Ronan once asked Dylan not to reiterate her story in the press fearing bad publicity. For the longest time, he tried hard to disassociate with his family kerfuffle until he couldn't anymore. In a 2016 column for the Hollywood Reporter, he declared his support for Dylan, felt repentant for his long silence/indifference and questioned the culture of acquiescence surrounding powerful men like his father.
'There is more work to do'
After igniting a global revolution which has toppled questionable leaders across industries, the Rhodes scholar now seems unstoppable. A Bard College alumna, he's about to close an HBO deal, is a contributing staffer at The New Yorker and his book, War on Peace, is releasing this April. However, he says there's more work to be done to ensure women aren't treated as invisibles anymore.
