Stephen King has been compelled to apologise profusely after comments that he made regarding Woody Allen's daughter, Dylan Farrow, and her claims that her father sexually abused her when she was a young girl. In a tweet that has now been deleted, the author wrote after reading about the story: "Boy, I'm stumped on that one. I don't like to think it's true, and there's an element of palpable bitchery there, but..."

Stephen King
Stephen King Provoked Fury After He Used "Palpable Bitchery" To Describe Dylan Farrow's Claims.

Many reacted with outrage towards King's words with the phrase "palpable bitchery" seeming to provoke the most concern. The writer has since tweeted a series of apologies in the hope of smoothing things over: "Have no opinion on the accusations; hope they're not true. Probably used the wrong word," he wrote, adding "Still learning my way around this thing. Mercy, please."

The It author elaborated upon his apology with a blog post on his website, saying "A good many people came away from my tweet about the Woody Allen controversy with the idea that I had called Dylan Farrow or Mia Farrow (or both) a bitch." King added "I used the wrong word to describe not Ms. Farrow-either Ms. Farrow-but a sad and painful mess."

Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow Was Accused Of Being A "Vengeful Lover" Who Engineered The Claims.

The 66 year-old then referenced the portrayal of women in his work, writing "Those of you who have read my work [...] will know that I have plenty of respect for women, and care about the problems and life-situations they face. My single-mom mother faced plenty, believe me. And I have no sympathy whatever for those who abuse children," King revealed, before rounding off with "Just know my heart is where it's always been: in the right place."

Though claims that Allen had abused Dylan first surfaced in the early nineties but were dismissed after an investigation, the 28 year-old spoke out about her experiences for the first time in an open letter to her father published in the NY Times.

Woody Allen
Woody Allen's Daughter Alleges That The Filmmaker Sexually Abused Her When  She Was Little.

In the letter, Dylan claims that Allen "sexually assaulted" her when she was young and also admonishes actors, such as Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin, by name for "turning a blind eye" to her alleged abuse and continuing to work with her father. Dylan's mother, the actress Mia Farrow, has supported her daughter in her allegations.

Representatives speaking for Allen have branded the claims "untrue and disgraceful" and have described Mia as a "vengeful lover." A personal response from Allen is expected soon.