Sean Penn Sues ‘Empire’ Creator Lee Daniels For $10 Million
Source: Frederick M. Brown / Getty
Sean Penn is coming after Lee Daniels’ coins for comments he made about Penn in a recent interview, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In a recent interview, the ‘Empire’ co-creator was discussing the way Terrence Howard has been perceived over Howard’s admission that he hit his two ex-wives.
Daniels is quoted as saying about Howard, “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,” Daniels said. “That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”
Sean Penn is suing Daniels for defamation from Daniels’ allegation that Penn has hit his ex-wives. Penn has hired former federal prosecutor to handle the case. The attorney, Matthew Rosengart, has yet to make a comment, but referred The Hollywood Reporter to the first paragraph of the complaint:
“As a result of Penn’s status as a public figure, he has for years been the subject of scandalous, scurrilous, and baseless attacks. But 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. Accordingly, and because of Daniels’ defamatory statements, Penn brings this action for monetary relief, and to deter Daniels and others from their defamatory actions. 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.”
According to TMZ, “Penn has been caught on video attacking paparazzi and prosecuted for it. As for women, there have been numerous reports that he allegedly brutalized Madonna in the late ’80s, and numerous publications reported he was charged and convicted. We did some checking, and it appears the story about being charged and convicted is incorrect … he was never charged.”
