Madonna Testifies Sean Penn 'Never Struck Me' In $10M Defamation Suit Against Lee Daniels

Madonna Testifies Sean Penn Never Struck Her In $10M Defamation Suit Against Lee Daniels

Madonna is backing Sean Penn in his $10 million defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels.

Penn filed the lawsuit against “Empire” co-creator in September for “false and defamatory” statements he made in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

In the THR piece, Daniels was discussing how Terrence Howard has been vilified in the media because of his history of domestic abuse and run-ins with the law.

He ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f**kin demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.

Sean Penn’s lawsuit states:

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.

Madonna backed her ex-husband by testifying that he has never struck her despite tabloid reports and rumors.

Via Deadline:

“I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me,” said the superstar singer in a short declaration (read it here) accompanying an amended complaint by Penn. “Specifically, I am aware of the allegations concerning an alleged incident that occurred in June, 1987, whereby (according to tabloid reports), Sean allegedly struck me with ‘a baseball bat.’ I know the allegations in those and other reports to be completely outrageous, malicious, reckless, and false.”

According to Penn’s amended complaint (read it here) that hits back at Daniels’ recent filing claiming that the Oscar-nominated director speech is protected by the Constitution: “As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously observed almost 100 years ago, the First Amendment is not absolute. Just as it does not protect a person from ‘shouting fire in a crowded theatre,’ it also does not protect defamatory conduct.”

Madonna also added in the declaration of October 7 that she is “also aware of allegations concerning an incident that occurred in December, 1989, which purportedly resulted in Sean’s arrest for domestic assault and battery against me. I know those allegations to be false,” she said.

“While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, ‘tied me up,’ or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless, and false,” Madonna asserts, giving a peek inside the relationship.

Lee Daniels better start setting money aside because it doesn’t look good for him right now.

Scoop