New York: In her first extended comments on the fraught and tangled history between the director Woody Allen and the Farrow family, Soon-Yi Previn described her mother, Mia Farrow, as a demeaning and sometimes violent figure who exploded upon learning of her relationship with Allen - a man whom Farrow had worked with and dated for years.

The remarks, made in a lengthy New York magazine article published online on Sunday, represent the latest escalation in a decades-long dispute about allegations that Allen molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow.

Previn staunchly defended her husband, who has come under fresh criticism, saying that "what's happened to Woody is so upsetting, so unjust". Allen has been at odds with Mia Farrow for years over Dylan Farrow's accusations, and Previn said her mother had "taken advantage of the #MeToo movement and paraded Dylan as a victim".

From the beginning, Previn and her mother were "like oil and water", she said.

"Mia described me as 'elegant,'" she said in the article. "It was the only positive thing she said about me."

In the article, Previn said her mother would try to teach her the alphabet with wooden blocks - but would throw them at her if she made a mistake.

New York Times News Service