Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

Woody Allen has shared his feelings about being cancelled following allegations of sexually abusing his ex-partner Mia Farrow's daughter.

The 89-year-old filmmaker recently appeared on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, where he discussed that tumultuous period of his life.

Allen is no stranger to controversy, with one of the most significant being when he and 54-year-old Soon-Yi made their relationship public.

Soon-Yi is the adopted daughter of Farrow, who was in a long-term relationship with Allen when she was a child. Farrow later adopted a girl from Texas, Dylan Farrow.

Allen began a romantic relationship with Soon-Yi when she was in college, according to their accounts, despite Farrow's beliefs.

They said their connection deepened during a soccer game.

Woody Allen talked about being cancelled (YouTube/Club Random Podcast)

In his autobiography, A propos of Nothing, Allen claimed it was intended to be a brief affair.

"I thought it would be a pleasant experience and that Soon-Yi would eventually meet someone else at college and start a more conventional relationship. I didn't realize how close we had already become," he stated.

However, by 1992, their relationship became public knowledge, sparking backlash.

In response, Allen stated in a Time Magazine interview, as reported by Salon: "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather," adding: "I've never even lived with Mia.

"I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word."

But another controversy soon emerged after his relationship with Soon-Yi became public.

Dylan alleged that Allen had molested her when she was seven years old.

The allegation surfaced in 1992, shortly after Farrow discovered his romance with Soon-Yi.

"You were a victim of the excesses of the #MeToo movement and wokeness, along with many inconsistencies," Maher remarked on the podcast episode.

The filmmaker has consistently maintained his innocence, describing the allegations as 'an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives'.

The claims were investigated and dismissed by a New York judge during a custody case in 1993.

Allen and Yoon-Gi have been together since 92 (Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)

Dylan has reiterated the allegations in 2013 and 2021, and told Vulture in 2018: "Thanks to my mother, I grew up in a wonderful home."

Despite the case being dismissed, Allen’s reputation suffered significantly.

In 2021, Farrow, Dylan, and Allen and Farrow's son Ronan Farrow appeared in a documentary titled Allen v. Farrow, where Dylan shared her story publicly for the first time.

Allen has since described himself as ‘lucky’.

"Because that could have been ruinous depending on the timing. I was much older, having completed 45 movies," he said. "I had made enough money to retire comfortably for life."

He added: "I was even thinking, I only want to make a few more movies and then start writing books and plays. So it happened to me at a time when it was no problem. If it had happened when I was 25 or 30, you know."

If anything, he found the entire cancellation of his career 'amusing', telling Maher: "I didn't have any real practical problems," Allen admitted. "It amused me because it had no practical impact. It was not hurtful to me."

He continued: "I was in my 80s and had made so many movies that it didn't matter, it didn't hurt me."

However, he felt ‘disillusioned’ with the justice system while being investigated for the allegations.

He said: "You're shocked because most people don't find themselves in a courtroom ... and people are perjuring themselves one after another, and you think, 'Well, isn't this against the law?' But you find out that it's not exactly what you think — yes, it's against the law technically, but nobody does anything about it."

Calling it 'very interesting and amusing... in many ways,’ he noted: "And only because, as I said, I had made so many movies and accumulated enough personal financial resources, so I wasn't hurt by it. But if I was 40 or 50 or 30 or something, it would have been very, very painful."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.