Sean Penn wants $10 million in damages from Precious director Lee Daniels after Daniels compared him to Empire star Terrence Howard
Sean Penn is a very upstanding human being…on paper. He helped the people of Haiti following a devastating earthquake, has spoken out in favor of gay rights, and distributed to supplies to flood survivors in Pakistan.
On the other hand, he was once arrested for attempted murder after he dangled a photographer over the edge of a balcony, and was reportedly physically abusive toward Madonna when the two were husband and wife in the ’80s. Maybe those incidents were why Penn was quick to defend his name when Lee Daniels, the co-creator of Fox’s hit series Empire, implied that he shared something in common with Empire star Terrence Howard, who recently admitted to hitting his ex-wife Lori McCommas. Here’s what Daniel said:
"[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 time, of race, of where we are right now in America."
Incidentally, Daniels wasn’t talking about the accusations that Howard had abused Lori McCommas. He was defending the actor against accusations that he’d abused Michelle Ghent, who Howard married after he and McCommas divorced. Between that, Penn’s past, and Daniels’ creepy comments implying how abuse is okay if Marlon Brando did it, there’s plenty of gross to go around here.
Penn, however, is determined not to get the worst of it. He’s suing Daniels for defamation, and wants $10 million in damages. From his complaint:
"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."
Well, no, Penn wasn’t arrested for domestic violence, but I’m not sure he can claim the moral high ground, either. More as it develops, lord help us.
Next: Stephen A. Smith fires a shot across the bow at BK and Chicken Fries