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Lee Daniels Implies That Sean Penn Is A Woman-Beater, ‘Empire’ Director Gets Hit With Defamation Lawsuit

By Val Powell
Published on: 18:29 PST, Sep 23, 2015

Actor Sean Penn has filed a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Empire‘s Lee Daniels.

In the complaint that Sean Penn filed at the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, the actor and his lawyers claim that Lee Daniels falsely accused Penn of hitting on women.

Citing the Empire co-creator’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit indicates that Daniels made suggestions of Penn’s alleged domestic violence through a comparison he made of Penn to actor Terrence Howard.

“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 times, of race, of where we are right now in America.” Penn’s lawsuit, which cites damages amounting to $10 million, claims that Daniels made a statement to The Hollywood Reporter implying that the I Am Sam actor is “guilty of ongoing, continuous violence against women” like Empire star Terrence Howard, who has been arrested five times for physically abusing women.

“Daniels falsely equates Penn with Howard, even though, while he has certainly had several brushes with the law, Penn (unlike Howard) has never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would confirm and attest,” the lawsuit adds.

The lawsuit also states that Lee Daniels’ comments mentioning Sean Penn are part of a concerted effort to market his TV show Empire. Penn’s side also found it shocking that Daniels apparently acknowledges Howard’s misdeeds yet it appears that he condones the actor’s misconduct.

Penn’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart said that his client wants to take a stand and put an end to the false and reckless statements that have been made for years at his expense. “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,” Sean Penn’s attorney told People.

In a statement released on Deadline, Rosengart said Sean Penn is “dismayed at the gratuitous attacks and statements” that have been said about him for years and that “he wants to correct the record.”

“Penn, like any citizen, has a right to defend himself and will no longer tolerate the reckless and malicious behavior of others, who seek to aggrandize themselves or their projects at his expense,” asserted the complaint, which was filed just a day before the season 2 premiere of Lee Daniels’ Empire.

At the moment, Daniels has not issued any statement regarding Sean Penn’s lawsuit.

[Images by Valerie Macon and Imeh Akpanudosen, Getty Images]

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