Stephen King ‘very uneasy’ at publisher decision to cancel Woody Allen book

Stephen King has said he feels “very uneasy” after Woody Allen’s publisher decided to cancel the planned release of his memoir.

Hachette Book Group said it would not go ahead with the publication of A Propos Of Nothing following days of criticism, including from his son Ronan Farrow and daughter Dylan Farrow and the company’s own employees.

The family has been bitterly divided since Dylan – Allen’s adopted daughter with the actress Mia Farrow – accused the director of molesting her as a child in the early 1990s.

Allen, 84, vehemently denies the allegations and was not charged following two separate investigations.

King wrote on Twitter: “The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy. It’s not him; I don’t give a damn about Mr. Allen. It’s who gets muzzled next that worries me.

“Once you start, the next one is always easier.”

Replying to a fan who criticised his comments, he said: “If you think he’s a paedophile, don’t buy the book. Don’t go to his movies. Don’t go listen to him play jazz at the Carlyle. Vote with your wallet… by withholding it. In America, that’s how we do.”

Hachette worked with Ronan on his acclaimed book Catch And Kill, which explored how powerful men, including Harvey Weinstein, avoided punishment for sexual crimes.

In a statement shared on Twitter earlier this week, Ronan – who refers to his father as “Woody Allen” throughout – criticised the publisher for working with the director and hinted he would no longer work with them.

He accused them of not fact-checking the memoirs, saying Dylan, 34, had not been contacted to respond to “any denial or mischaracterisation of the abuse she suffered at the hands” of Allen.

King added it was “f****** tone-deaf” of Hachette to plan to publish Allen’s book after publishing Ronan Farrow’s.

A statement from Hachette said: “The decision to cancel Mr Allen’s book was a difficult one. At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly.

“We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard.”

Allen’s book was scheduled to come out next month.

Dylan previously said that Hachette’s plan to publish the book was “deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother whose brave reporting, capitalised on by Hachette, gave voice to numerous survivors of sexual assault by powerful men”.

On March 5 dozens of Hachette employees staged a walkout to protest against the publication of Allen’s book.

After the publisher announced it would not go ahead with the book, Ronan wrote on Twitter: “I’m grateful to all the Hachette employees and authors who spoke up and to the company for listening.”