Woody Allen Is 'Sad' for Harvey Weinstein, Warns of 'Witch Hunt' -- But Twitter's Not Having It

The famed-but-controversial director, who has been accused of sexually abusing his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow while he was married to Mia Farrow, told the BBC that he felt "sad" for Weinstein and didn't want the scandal to start a "witch hunt" in Hollywood.

TV One host Roland S. Martin suggested on Twitter, "Woody Allen might want to sit this one out."

In the interview, Allen called the controversy "very sad for everybody involved. Tragic for the poor women that were involved, sad for Harvey that [his] life is so messed up."

He said he hoped the revelations would lead to "some amelioration," but added, "You also don't want it to lead to a witch hunt atmosphere, a Salem atmosphere, where every guy in an office who winks at a woman is suddenly having to call a lawyer to defend himself."

Allen worked with Weinstein on a number of films and said he never heard about any rape or sexual abuse allegations. "But you do hear a million fanciful rumors all the time. And some turn out to be true and some - many - are just stories about this actress, or that actor."

Allen's own son, Ronan Farrow, was one of the key figures in the Weinstein investigation, interviewing 13 different women who accused the Hollywood mogul of sexual harassment or sexual assault and writing a ground-shaking expose for The New Yorker.

Mia Farrow has not reacted to Woody Allen on social media so far, but has been closely following and retweeting coverage about the Weinstein scandal. "Proud of @TheAcademy!" she tweeted after Weinstein was expelled from the organization. "Harvey Weinstein is out. There are others - but hopefully we are witnessing the end of an awful era."

Woody Allen's remarks were immediately slammed on Twitter: