Lee Daniels Controversy: Sean Penn Never Convicted Of Beating Madonna In 1980s
Lee Daniels thinks that everybody is judging Terrence Howard not because he has been convicted of domestic violence several times, but because he’s a victim of racism. This was revealed in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter last week.
“That poor boy, [Terrence] ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f—in’ demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”
Marlon Brando is dead and can’t defend himself. However, Sean Penn can and is. In fact, he filed a defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels. Entertainment Weekly has the news.
“Sean Penn has filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels alleging that the Empire co-creator falsely accused him of domestic violence by comparing him to fellow actor Terrence Howard.”
Penn’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, accuses Lee Daniels of using false information about him to bolster the Empire brand. Mr. Rosengart also gave a statement to People about the controversy.
“As asserted in the lawsuit, there is also a critical issue at stake here, which is the malicious and reckless repetition of rumors and innuendo at the expense of others. Sean has been subjected to false, baseless and reckless attacks for years, and this is only the most recent example.”
When Lee Daniels mentioned Sean Penn’s name, he was obviously referring to the much-reported incident where Sean Penn beat Madonna with a baseball bat in 1987. In March, even Pajiba got into the act of spreading the story. They also used a tabloid newspaper that claimed the incident that led to Madonna divorcing Penn occurred when he tied her up to a chair for nine hours and even beat her.
The only problem (and a big one) with all the stories is that no charges were ever filed. There is a lot of suspicion that Penn abused Madonna, but absolutely no actual proof. There is also no proof of domestic violence with his second wife, Robin Wright. Many people think Lee Daniels crossed a legal line here, and although Sean Penn certainly has a reputation (and has been arrested for beating photographers and extras), many believe he may have the legal leg here. Twitter is siding more with Penn than Daniels.
Good for Sean Penn. This is exactly what defamation is and he's right not to swallow it. http://t.co/lOvXEfDIE3
— Ari Goldkind (@AriGoldkind) September 22, 2015
Do you think Sean Penn will win his lawsuit against Lee Daniels? Let us know in the Comments section.
[Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd. for Getty Images]
