Mia Farrow took to Twitter on Wednesday to address “vicious rumors” regarding the deaths of three of her 14 children.
“Few families are perfect, and any family who has suffered the loss of a child knows that pain is merciless and ceaseless,” she wrote. “However, some vicious rumors based on untruths have appeared online concerning the lives of my three children. To honor their memory, their children and every family that has dealt with the death of a child, I am posting this message.”
Farrow, 76, went on to explain the circumstances she says surrounded the deaths of three of her adopted children: Tam, Lark and Thaddeus.
Tam, Farrow wrote, passed away at the age of 17 from an accidental prescription overdose “related to the agonizing migraines she suffered, and her heart ailment.”
Lark, “who was an extraordinary woman, a wonderful daughter, sister, partner and mother to her own children,” died at the age of 35 from complications of HIV/AIDS, which she had contracted from a previous partner, Farrow said.
Thaddeus died at 29, Farrow said. He was living with his partner, and the family was “anticipating a wedding”, but “when the relationship abruptly ended, he took his own life,” she wrote.
“These are unspeakable tragedies,” Farrow said. “Any other speculation about their deaths is to dishonor their lives and the lives of their children and loved ones.”
The post follows HBO’s release of “Allen v. Farrow,” a four-part documentary that details an allegation from Dylan Farrow that director Woody Allen, her adoptive father, molested her when she was a child. Allen has long denied the allegation.
The documentary does not cover the deaths of Farrow’s three adoptive children, but they are referenced in a 2018 essay that has resurfaced due to the documentary. That essay was written by Moses Farrow, another adoptive child of Allen and Farrow.
In that essay, Moses Farrow adamantly defended Allen following Dylan Farrow’s January 2018 interview with “CBS This Morning,” in which she told the sexual assault story in detail.
He also accused Mia Farrow of abusing her adopted children.
“Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat,” Moses wrote. Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and musician André Previn, began a relationship with Allen in the 1990s. Allen, 85, and Previn, 50, have been married since 1997.
While Previn was able to “escape,” Moses wrote, “others weren’t so lucky.”
He said that Tam had committed suicide by overdosing on pills, and painted his mother as partly responsible for the deaths of Thaddeus and Lark.
“This is an attempt to deflect from a credible allegation made by an adult woman, by trying to impugn my mother who has only ever been supportive of me and my siblings,” Dylan Farrow wrote on Twitter in a response to the essay.
Ronan Farrow, the biological son of Farrow and Allen, also defended his mother following the essay.
“Not worth saying much to dignify the repeated campaign to discredit my sister, often by attacking our mother,” he said. “This happens every time Dylan speaks, so this is all I’ll offer: My mother did an extraordinary job raising us, and none of my siblings with whom I’ve spoken ever witnessed anything but love and care from a single mom who went through hell to keep her kids safe.”
Mia Farrow wrote in her post Wednesday: “I am grateful to be the mother of fourteen children who have blessed me with sixteen grandchildren.”
“Although we have known sorrow, our lives today are full of love and joy. Everyone has their own battles to fight; their own sorrows that gnaw.”
Dylan Farrow responded almost immediately: “Love you Mom.”
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
