Woody Allen told The Sunday Times that he and his wife, Soon‑Yi Previn, attended a star‑studded dinner hosted by Jeffrey Epstein at the financier’s Manhattan home on Dec. 2, 2010, an event that included then‑Prince Andrew among the guests.
Allen said he and Previn were invited by a publicist and that the gathering included television personalities and figures from show business. According to reporting in the Daily Mail, Allen recalled "about twenty people there," a larger number than the "eight or ten" guests Prince Andrew later described in his much‑publicized 2019 Newsnight interview about his relationship with Epstein.
Allen told The Sunday Times he had not known Epstein before the dinner, that Epstein told guests he had been jailed and claimed he had been falsely imprisoned, and that Epstein said he was trying to atone by supporting scientific research and universities. Allen said he and Previn subsequently became regular dinner guests at Epstein’s home and that he never saw Epstein with underage girls. Allen also said that Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of sex trafficking and received a 20‑year prison sentence, did not attend those dinners.
Published photos and documents from inside Epstein’s Manhattan residence, including a photograph of a letter by Allen, were among materials shown by The New York Times in recent reporting. The letters were said to be part of compilations made for Epstein’s birthday celebrations; one of the troves contained a letter in which Allen made a darkly humorous reference comparing Epstein to Bela Lugosi, the actor who played Dracula.
Reports of the Dec. 2010 dinner and Allen’s recollections were published as part of renewed attention to Epstein’s social circle and the high‑profile figures who attended events at his properties. Epstein previously faced criminal charges related to the solicitation of an underage girl, and in 2019 he was arrested on federal sex‑trafficking charges and was found dead in his federal jail cell.
Prince Andrew’s association with Epstein prompted intense public scrutiny. The duke later stepped back from public duties and reached a multimillion‑dollar settlement in a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she had been trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sexual encounters with Andrew; Andrew has denied those allegations.
The reporting also reopened discussion of longstanding controversies surrounding Allen. In 1992, Allen became the subject of accusations that he molested his then‑seven‑year‑old adoptive daughter. Investigations at the time by a hospital clinic and child welfare authorities did not result in criminal charges, and no conviction followed. The allegation has been reiterated publicly by the accuser in later years, and it has been a persistent element of public debate over Allen’s career and legacy.
Allen told The Sunday Times that Previn, the adopted daughter of his former partner Mia Farrow and conductor Andre Previn, had described Prince Andrew as "such a dullard." He also recalled a dinner where magician David Blaine performed a stunt involving live goldfish, and said that Epstein always appeared with an adult girlfriend during the events he attended.
The accounts from Allen and the release of archival letters have been combined in recent press coverage to illuminate the social dynamics of Epstein’s gatherings and the extent to which entertainers, journalists and political figures intersected with him. Reporting drew on archived photographs, birthday compilations and contemporaneous accounts to place specific individuals at Epstein’s Manhattan residence on the night in question.
Epstein’s legal history remains a central frame for coverage of those connections. He reached a controversial non‑prosecution agreement in 2008 stemming from state charges in Florida and served a jail term; federal prosecutors later filed new charges in 2019 alleging a broader sex‑trafficking operation. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on charges related to her role in procuring and trafficking young women for Epstein and was sentenced to 20 years.
Journalists and researchers continue to examine documents and photographs recovered from Epstein’s properties and archives. Allen’s recollections and the appearance of his letters in the material published by major outlets have renewed interest in the social networks that surrounded Epstein during the years after his initial criminal case.
Representatives for Prince Andrew did not comment for this article. Allen and Previn have, in past interviews and statements, addressed questions about their relationship with Epstein. The broader investigations and civil litigation tied to Epstein’s activities have produced a series of legal outcomes and ongoing public scrutiny of those who associated with him.