Sean Penn has lashed out at Empire co-creator Lee Daniels, accusing him of making “defamatory statements” that alleged the actor was guilty of domestic violence. The actor has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Lee, stating in the official complaint that he “will no longer tolerate the reckless and malicious behaviour of others”.
The controversy stems from comments Lee made in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he seemed to compare Sean to Empire star Terrence Howard, who has been arrested several times in the past in connection with alleged domestic abuse.
Earlier this year, Terrence also admitted that he had slapped his first wife Lori McCommas during an interview with Rolling Stone, although he denied hitting her with a closed fist as her lawyer had claimed.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee said Terrence hadn’t done anything “different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f***ing demon”.
“That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America,” he told the publication.
Sean, who was most recently linked to Charlize Theron, has long been dogged by rumours of domestic assault involving his first wife Madonna, which is alleged to have taken place in the 1980s. However, he was never formally charged over the incident.
“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,” Sean’s official complaint reads.
“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.”
