Javier Bardem revealed that he wasn’t entirely convinced Woody Allen knew who he was when they first worked together on the director’s 2008 film Vicky Christina Barcelona.
But that didn’t stop the Spanish actor from defending the controversial director accused of child sexual assault to the crowd gathered Tuesday night at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon, France.
“At the time I did Vicky Christina Barcelona, the allegations were already well known for more than 10 years, and two states in the U.S. deemed he was not guilty,” Bardem said. “If the legal situation ever changes, then I’d change my mind. But for now I don’t agree with the public lynching that he’s been receiving, and if Woody Allen called me to work with him again I’d be there tomorrow morning. He’s a genius.”
Claims of child sexual misconduct against Allen that have resurfaced in the past few years, thanks in part to the #Time’sUp and Me Too movements.
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