﻿Diane Keaton’s support of the disgraced director, Woody Allen, was harshly criticized by the public,
but she didn’t care. Diane stood by Woody, her loyalty unwavering.
Their bond has spanned over five decades, and after all these years and the dark
clouds that shrouded their relationship, Keaton assured that she would always love Allen.
Diane Keaton and Woody Allen go all the way back to 1968. At the time,
Keaton was twenty-two years old and a struggling actress trying to get her career off the ground.
From their very first meeting, Keaton was infatuated with Allen and even confessed to
feeling "crazy about him." On the other hand, Woody viewed Diane in less flattering terms.
According to a 1993 profile in the New York Times, he described
her as "blank" and a "coat check girl." It took some convincing on Keaton’s part to
gain Allen's attention. After warming her way into his heart, the pair eventually started dating.
The actress admitted, "I wanted to be his girlfriend. So I worked at it."
Their romance went on and off for about three years before they broke things off for good.
Speaking about their relationship, the actress hinted that it was the director
who chose to officially end things. "I remember Woody saying, 'Living with
you is like walking on eggshells.' I think [it was] because I had too much sensitivity.
I was hurt by everything…" She shared. Following their split, the director dated
both of Diane’s sisters, Robin and Dory. Despite all of this, Keaton and Allen remained the closest
of friends. Their continued friendship may have seemed unconventional to the public,
but their shared experiences only brought them closer together.
In 1992, Woody found himself in the middle of a high-profile custody battle with his ex Mia
Farrow. Things took an even darker turn when the director was accused of assault
against his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. Allen subsequently fired Mia from his upcoming
movie 'Manhattan Murder Mystery,' and Diane replaced her for the role.
Despite the numerous allegations against the director, Keaton stood by his side.
"I like Mia. But my history has always been linked with Woody. He's my friend." The actress shared.
Allen expressed his gratitude to Keaton and said that she was "totally supportive and
fabulous" while he went through his custody battle. He added, "She took a million calls
from me and let me kvetch on her shoulder … It was great therapy for me, a great palliative."
During press for the movie, Diane was reluctant to talk about the director's ongoing battle
with Farrow. That being said, she openly criticized the Supreme Court ruling that
restricted Woody's visitation to his children. "I think it was too harsh," she told the New
York Times. "I think he could have had better visitation rights. You can't eliminate the parent
from a child's life, no matter what happened." In 2014, Diane was named in an open letter
written by Dylan Farrow for the New York Times. Dylan reiterated her allegations against Allen,
and condemned the actors who were still lining up to work with him.
"You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me?" Farrow wrote.
Keaton was quick to defend her support of Allen. She expressed she didn't "want
to say anything" about Farrow's accusations, except, "I love Woody. I'm Woody's friend, and
I believe him. That's the bottom line for me." The actress also insisted she wasn't bothered by
being publicly called out in Dylan's open letter. Diane explained that she saw Farrow "maybe three
times," and she "didn't know her." She shared that she was "never friends with Mia" either.
Over the years, Keaton reiterated her love for Woody and often referred to their long-standing
friendship. After everything that they've been through together, their bond was never
broken. That being said, the actress admitted that maintaining their friendship wasn't always easy.
"He can be quite serious," she told the New Yorker. "And, one other very important thing
about Woody, once you're his friend, that's it. You can call him any hour of the day
or night, and he's there for you." In her autobiography, Diane went into
more detail about their complex relationship. She wrote how "he'd cringe" if he knew how much
she cared about him, adding that she's "smart enough not to broach the subject" with him.
"I know he's borderline repulsed by the grotesque nature of my affection. What am
I supposed to do? I still love him." There's no doubt that Diane and Woody
have created some of cinema's most endearing and fiercely romantic couples. Their friendship may be
unconventional, but they've never been bothered about what other people think. After everything
they experienced together, Diane and Woody's loyalty to one another has always come first.