Was Woody Allen a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein? What a NYT report reveals

Years after pleading guilty to disturbing sex crimes, Jeffrey Epstein privately remained close with a number of high-profile friends, according to a revealing New York Times report. Among those alleged pals was director Woody Allen.

In a detailed recollection of his visit to Epstein's Manhattan home, NYT reporter James B. Stewart says that Epstein made it clear he "knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people, and had photos to prove it. He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing."

Epstein, who authorities say is a pedophile who sexually abused and trafficked countless underage women, showcased a large collection of personal photographs in his home, Stewart said, including at least one of him with director Woody Allen.

"About a week after that interview, Mr. Epstein called and asked if I'd like to have dinner that Saturday with him and Woody Allen," Stewart writes. Feeling uncomfortable, "I said I'd be out of town."

Stewart adds that he does not know whether the dinner plans were legitimate or if the dinner actually happened.

Allen himself has been accused of pedophilia; his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, has said he sexually abused her at seven years old. Allen also infamously wed one of his his ex-wife's adoptive daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, who joined the family when she was around eight years old.

Stewart adds that an image of Epstein with former president Bill Clinton was also on display when he visited the home.

Also allegedly invited to Epstein's for dinner was Steve Bannon, formerly the chief executive officer of Trump's 2016 presidential bid. He left the Trump administration in August 2017. Supposedly set to join Bannon and Epstein for dinner was author Michael Wolff, who wrote the much-talked-about 2018 book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."

In regards to dinner plans Epstein claimed they had, Bannon "said he didn't attend," but it's unclear whether that means he was never invited, or if he was in fact invited to Epstein's home but did not go. Allen and Wolff have not responded to the report.

During his conversation with Stewart, Epstein was upfront about his sexual interest in very young women: "He said that criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and that at times in history it was perfectly acceptable," Stewart said.

Epstein's August 10 death inside a Manhattan prison was initially ruled a suicide. A medical examiner's office later said it has not yet determined a cause of death.

While Epstein allegedly owned many photos of himself posing with famous people, there are very few snapshots of him currently publicly available for media use.