Allen fights use of testimony from Farrow and wife

ACTOR-director Woody Allen has asked a judge to stop a clothing company from putting his former long-time companion Mia Farrow and his wife – Farrow’s adopted daughter – on the witness stand as it defends itself against his claims it used his image on billboards without permission.

In papers filed in US District Court in Manhattan, Allen said Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc’s requests to summon Farrow, her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn and others, including his sister and Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt are a “brutish attempt to smear and intimidate” him.

Allen sued American Apparel for $10 million (€7.5m) after it used his image on its billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a website. Allen, who does not endorse products in the US, said he had not authorised the displays, which the company said were up for a week. Jury selection in the civil trial is set for May 18.