More On Allen

To follow up Paul’s final point about the presumption of innocence Allen is owed in a court of law and the presumption of innocence he’s owed by individuals, see Aaron Bady and Kathleen Geier.  Would Allen be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law?  I have no idea.  But it’s much more likely that Dylan Farrow is telling the truth than that she isn’t, and there’s no reason to ignore that.

…two quick additional points so I don’t have to keep making them:

• Most accusations of sexual assault are truthful.  Without an independent reason to believe that Farrow is lying, I see no reason to believe that she and Allen are equally likely to be telling the truth.
• I would probably place significantly less weight on Allen’s affair with Nelkin than Geier does.  But if predatory behavior doesn’t tell us anything at all about the possibility that Allen sexually assaulted Farrow as long as this behavior was formally legal, then I don’t understand what value people see in Robert Weide’s apologia.  After all, Weide starts out with an extensive discussion of why Allen marrying his longtime partner’s barely adult daughter isn’t really as bad as marrying your longtime partner’s barely adult daughter might be.  So is it relevant or not, and if it’s relevant how does it not weigh against Allen on balance?  But more importantly, if Weide says anything that casts doubt on Farrow’s credibility I hope they ID it for me, because I sure can’t find it.  “It wouldn’t be rational for Allen to do this during a custody battle” isn’t a serious argument.