For better or worse, the number of high-profile voices commenting on the sexual-abuse allegations made against Woody Allen by adopted daughter Dylan Farrow continues to grow after The New York Times published Farrow's scathing letter last week.
Among those voices is acclaimed author Stephen King, who has backtracked on his comments, apologizing for a Twitter missive he posted earlier this week.
See also: Woody Allen: Dylan Farrow's Sex-Abuse Letter 'Untrue and Disgraceful'
Replying to fellow author Mary Karr's tweet asking whether it was "right or wrong" for Farrow to release the letter, King replied Monday with this response:
@marykarrlit Boy, I'm stumped on that one. I don't like to think it's true, and there's an element of palpable bitchery there, but...
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 3, 2014
Twitter users responded rapidly and angrily, charging that King had been out of line for using a derivative of the word bitch in the context of someone who alleges she was raped. A sampling of those responses can be seen here.
@StephenKing @marykarrlit Ummmmm. Please retract or I'll have to cancel my book preorder. Or is that bitchy something or other ...
— Connie (@WebOfLib) February 3, 2014
The rapid online backlash inspired King to post this apology to 28-year-old Dylan Farrow and her mother, actress Mia Farrow, on his website Tuesday night:
Those of you who follow Twitter will know that recently I managed to put my foot in my mouth and halfway down my throat. A good many people came away from my tweet about the Woody Allen controversy with the idea that I had called Dylan Farrow or Mia Farrow (or both) a bitch. That wasn’t my intention, but the conclusion on the part of some readers is understandable. I used the wrong word to describe not Ms. Farrow—either Ms. Farrow—but a sad and painful mess. Some people seem to believe that writers never use the wrong word, but any editor can tell you that’s not true.
Those of you who have read my work — Carrie, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, and Lisey’s Story, to name four — will know that I have plenty of respect for women, and care about the problems and life-situations they face. My single-mom mother faced plenty, believe me. And I have no sympathy whatever for those who abuse children. I wrote about such abuse—and its ultimate cost to the victim—in Gerald’s Game.
The maximum number of letters in a Tweet is 140. I think the following would fit: I apologize for screwing up.
Just know my heart is where it’s always been: in the right place.
King joined Twitter in December and explained he's still learning how to use the platform.
Still learning my way around this thing. Mercy, please.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 4, 2014
In the letter, Dylan Farrow explained Allen's alleged abuse when she was 7 years old.
"He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me," she wrote. "He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains."
Allen's spokesperson told Mashable that "Mr. Allen has read the [letter] and found it untrue and disgraceful. At the time, a thorough investigation was conducted by court appointed independent experts. The experts concluded there was no credible evidence of molestation; that Dylan Farrow had an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality; and that Dylan Farrow had likely been coached by her mother Mia Farrow. No charges were ever filed."

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