Hachette Employees Stage Walk-Out Over Company’s Release of Woody Allen’s Memoir

Dozens of Hachette Book Group employees staged a walk-out in protest on Thursday, in the wake of controversy surrounding the publishing company’s upcoming release of Woody Allen’s memoir.

“This afternoon, Grand Central Publishing employees are walking out of the Hachette New York office in protest of the publication of Woody Allen’s memoir,” the employees said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with Ronan Farrow, Dylan Farrow and survivors of sexual assault.”

Around 75 employees of multiple Hachette imprints took to New York’s Rockefeller Plaza to support journalist Ronan Farrow, who just cut ties with the publisher after discovering that Hachette, which published his book “Catch and Kill,” was releasing his estranged father’s memoir as well. Farrow has stood by his sister Dylan, who has accused her adoptive father Allen of sexually abusing her as a child. Allen has repeatedly denied the allegations and has never been charged with a crime.

On Monday, Hachette outlet Grand Central Publishing announced that it would release Allen’s book, “Apropos of Nothing,” on April 7. Farrow condemned Hachette chief executive Michael Pietsch for working on Allen’s book while editing “Catch and Kill.”

“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 wrote in an email obtained by the New York Times. “Obviously I can’t in good conscience work with you any more. Imagine this were your sister.”

The journalist followed up with a tweet, saying the publisher did not “fact check” Allen’s book and that Dylan hadn’t been contacted.

Dylan Farrow took to Twitter amid news of the walkout, saying she was, “Unbelievably overwhelmed and so incredibly grateful for the solidarity demonstrated by @HachetteUS and @littlebrown employees today. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Grand Central Publishing and Little, Brown and Company — the division of Hachette that published “Catch and Kill” — didn’t immediately respond to Variety‘s requests comment.

Farrow’s “Catch and Kill” subject, Harvey Weinstein, was recently convicted of rape and sexual assault, and faces up to 29 years in prison.

Source: Read Full Article