Publisher drops Woody Allen memoir after protests

Hachette Book Group announced Friday that it would drop Woody Allen’s memoir, “A Propos of Nothing,” after employees protested the move earlier this week.

“The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one,” the publisher said in a statement. ”At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly.

“We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books,” it added. “As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard.”

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— Hachette Book Group (@HachetteUS) March 6, 2020

The employee walk-outs occurred after Ronan Farrow, whose book “Catch and Kill” was published by a Hachette imprint, publicly blasted the company, the Daily Beast reported.

Farrow’s sister Dylan, Allen’s adopted daughter, has accused Allen of sexually assaulting her, which Allen has denied. Farrow has publicly backed his sister’s allegations.

“Also, as a company, we are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff,” the statement continued. “Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG.”

Farrow on Thursday threatened to cut ties with the publisher if it moved forward with Allen’s book deal.

“Your policy of editorial independence among your imprints does not relieve you of your moral and professional obligations as the publisher of ‘Catch and Kill,’ and as the leader of a company being asked to assist in efforts by abusive men to whitewash their crimes,” Farrow said in an email to Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch, according to the Daily Beast.

“Obviously I can’t in good conscience work with you any more,” Farrow added. “Imagine this were your sister.”

The New York Times reported last year that Allen had tried to sell the book to several major publishing houses, “only to be met with indifference or hard passes.”