Madonna: Sean Penn has never struck me, tied me up or physically assaulted me
In September, Lee Daniels was chatting to The Hollywood Reporter about the long-standing arrest record and extensive, documented history of Empire star Terrence Howard’s physical abuse of women. Daniels defended Howard, saying that his history is no different than the history of men like “Marlon Brando or Sean Penn.” A week later, Sean Penn sued Daniels for defamation. A lot of us were like, “Hey, isn’t it pretty easy to prove that Sean Penn is a violent predator who has abused at least one of his ex-wives?” Turns out, it’s not as easy to prove as people originally thought.
While there were always tons of rumors and reports about Sean physically abusing Madonna during their brief, painful marriage, we soon found out that there was little evidence to back up those stories/rumors. Authorities in California (where Madonna and Penn lived during their marriage) said they had no record of Madonna filing any police reports or anything like that. And now, as part of Penn’s defamation lawsuit, Madonna has made a declaration to the court, saying that Penn never abused her.
Some rumors take a few decades to put to rest. In support of Sean Penn in his defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels, Madonna stated in a court declaration that he never physically abused her during their famously tumultuous marriage.
“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,” the singer stated, per court documents filed in New York State Supreme Court today and obtained by E! News.
She also states that reports of an alleged 1987 incident in which he struck her with a bat are “completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false”; and she called allegations that a December 1989 incident that “purportedly resulted in Sean’s arrest” were also false.
In his filing today, Penn objects to Daniels’ claim that his right to free speech protects what he said.
“Unfortunately for Daniels, his statements–which by direct reference to Howard’s misconduct, falsely accuse Penn of committing serious, multiple crimes against women–are not protected the First Amendment,” Penn’s filing argues. “Contrary to Daniels’ false accusations, Penn has never struck or physically abused any woman, including his ex-wife Madonna,” the amended complaint continues.
In addition to his acting and filmmaking prowess, Penn has been known for having a temper, particularly around paparazzi. But Madonna, who was married to the Oscar winner from 1985 until 1989, swears that images can be deceiving.
“I have known Sean Penn for over thirty years,” the Rebel Heart artist states. “Over the decades, I have known Sean to be a caring, compassionate individual, as well as an extremely talented actor, creative artist and philanthropist.”
If we go back over every single statement Madonna has ever made about Sean Penn in the past 30 years, will her story be consistent? Probably not. I think Penn has made a real effort to reconnect with her over the past several years, and their new friendship has put a love-haze all over their tumultuous past. That being said, and this is something I said in the original Lee Daniels story – Sean Penn is no Terrence Howard. He never was. Terrence Howard has a long, well-documented history of violence towards women (more often than not, his intimate partners). For Lee Daniels to compare Sean Penn and Terrence Howard was always absurd. But! I don’t really blame Lee Daniels for believing the long-standing rumors about Penn’s assault(s) on Madonna, because seriously, so many people believed those stories. Also: I wonder if Charlize Theron will be making a similar declaration to the court?
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN, Fame/Flynet.
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