Woody Allen was a famous Luddite during his decades-long reign in Hollywood, mocking modern technology at every opportunity (he even refused to digitally print his films). But that attitude did not extend to his family, as evidenced this week by a trove of private emails from his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, to Jeffrey Epstein.
A number of Previn’s unearthed communications provide insight into the couple’s personal history and suggest close ties to the late convicted sex offender and human trafficker Epstein. According to U.S. Department of Justice documents, Ms. Previn wrote to both herself and her husband using their personal email accounts, talking to Mr. Epstein about current events and asking for favors.
Correspondence from 2017 shows that Previn was extremely grateful to Epstein for helping his daughter, Bechet Allen, get into New York’s Bard College, thanks to Epstein’s personal connection to president Leon Botstein.
“I think it would be better if Bechet was in pain and didn’t know in advance that she was in. That way she would sweat a little when she went in by Bird and really want to go. Thank you for coming for us,” Previn wrote to Epstein. “Words can’t tell you how much this means to me. Woody said that if Bechet set the school on fire, you’d be grateful.”
Representatives for Bard College did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment, but a spokesperson for Mr. Botstein told the New York Times that Mr. Epstein is “a serial liar who seems to take credit for the sun rising every day.” The official added that Beshe Allen, who will graduate in 2021, was admitted “based on her qualifications,” since it is reported that 40% of prospective students attend Bard each year.
A representative for Woody Allen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There is also a 2016 exchange between Mr. Previn and Mr. Epstein discussing Anthony Weiner, the disgraced politician who was convicted of transferring obscene material to a minor.
“She knew exactly what she was doing and how vulnerable[Weiner]was, so she reeled him in like a fish to bait,” Previn wrote of the 15-year-old girl Weiner tried to solicit nude photos from. “What’s her excuse for being a despicable, disgusting human being,” she wondered, noting that the minor in the incident treated Weiner as “prey.”
Beyond hot topics and her children’s academic aspirations, Previn freely shared her thoughts with Epstein about the celebrity connections she and Woody Allen had.
“I’m glad the Prick Chalamet movie didn’t get better reviews,” she wrote in 2018, referring to Timothée Chalamet. The “Marty Supreme” actor starred in Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York,” which Amazon released the same year. The film was hit by scandal as #MeToo consumed the culture and the world re-litigated Allen’s own past sexual abuse accusations against his daughter Dylan Farrow.
“No, I have no revenge,” Previn added of Chalamet, who was starring in Amazon’s “Beautiful Boy” at the time.
