Gina Gershon on Why Worked with Woody Allen: 'Serves No One to Keep Great Artists from Working'

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Gina Gershon is explaining why she felt comfortable starring in Woody Allen's new movie, which is being released after years of delays amid the pandemic and his resurfaced controversy.

Allen, now 86, has long denied sexually abusing his adopted daughter Dylan. The allegations, made by a then-7-year-old Dylan, were first reported during his 1992 breakup from actress Mia Farrow. Allen was not charged, though a Connecticut prosecutor said there was probable cause for a criminal case.

Though Allen has maintained his innocence over the years, Dylan's accusations resurfaced amid the #MeToo movement. A recent HBO docuseries, titled Allen v. Farrow, recounted the allegations by featuring interviews with Dylan, who is now 36, and others involved.

Allen wrote and directed the movie Rifkin's Festival, which is being released this week. The romantic comedy was filmed in summer 2019. It stars Gershon, Wallace Shawn, Christoph Waltz, Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel and Sergi López.

While promoting the film this week in a joint interview with costar Shawn on WGN, Gershon, 59, took issue with the question of why they would work with Allen when so many actors have distanced themselves from him.

"If they're against it, they just shouldn't," she said with a laugh about colleagues vowing not to work with the Oscar winner again. Gershon added of why she signed on to the project: "Because he's a genius."

"You know what, it serves no one to keep great artists from working, even the alleged victims, right? And Woody Allen, you know, it makes me a little sad that that's how you lead this whole talk, talking about that whole controversy instead of talking about what an incredible artist he is. For me as an actress, he's been inspiring me ever since I can remember. So I was really thrilled to work with him."

For his part, Shawn, 78, said he believes Allen is an "innocent man."

Gershon cut in, saying that the situation is a "family matter" and "not really any of our businesses."

RELATED: Javier Bardem Again Defends Woody Allen, Calls Allegations 'Just Gossip' Until 'Legally Proven'

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"In this world that we're living in right now it's a little bit tricky to even talk about it because things are pulled apart and put on social media and clickbait, and no one is safe. It's sad. And that's the world we're living in right now. I thought in this country you're innocent until proven guilty, because if the opposite were true we'd all be canceled basically. That's how I feel. It's a weird time in the world."

The actress also pointed out that it's "not an easy question" to discuss in its complexities in a five-minute interview.

Back in 2019, Gershon said starring in the Allen film was a "dream come true."

Allen said in a 2020 interview that was released on Paramount+ in March: "It's so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained. And they still prefer to cling to if not the notion that I molested Dylan, the possibility that I molested her. Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that."

Getty Dylan Farrow and Mia Farrow in 2016

Back in 2014, Dylan wrote an open letter for The New York Times calling out actors who continued to work with Allen, explaining how she felt "silenced" and disregarded as Hollywood upheld Allen as an A-lister.

"For so long, Woody Allen's acceptance silenced me," she wrote at the time. "It felt like a personal rebuke, like the awards and accolades were a way to tell me to shut up and go away. But the survivors of sexual abuse who have reached out to me — to support me and to share their fears of coming forward, of being called a liar, of being told their memories aren't their memories — have given me a reason to not be silent, if only so others know that they don't have to be silent either."

She ended that letter: "Woody Allen is a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse. So imagine your 7-year-old daughter being led into an attic by Woody Allen. Imagine she spends a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name. Imagine a world that celebrates her tormenter. Are you imagining that? Now, what's your favorite Woody Allen movie?"

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.