Woody Allen meets cancel culture

Publisher Hachette's decision to quash Allen's memoir is part of a dangerous trend to silence unpopular people and conflate accusation with guilt.

Diane Keaton and Woody Allen in Allen's film "Annie Hall". Despite the controversy surrounding Allen, he is still one of the greats of American cinema. Alamy

Bret Stephens

Mar 20, 2020 – 12.00am

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

Early this month, Hachette Book Group announced that it would publish Woody Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing. In that bygone era when people had thoughts on subjects other than the coronavirus, this caused an uproar.

The journalist Ronan Farrow, Allen's estranged son, denounced the decision and said he would end his own lucrative relationship with the publisher. Hachette employees staged a walkout from company offices in New York and Boston.