Sean Penn Suing Lee Daniels: 'Empire' Creator Slapped with Defamation Lawsuit

Sean Penn is suing Lee Daniels, with the actor filing a defamation lawsuit against the Empire creator for his comments in a recent interview. The Hollywood star is not too happy with the director, after his controversial comments on Penn in his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, joined by the rest of the Empire cast.
When asked about his thoughts on the reports of Terrence Howard’s violence against his ex-wife coming to the surface, Daniels gave an answer that compared his case to the alleged cases of domestic violence that Penn has been accused of for years.

Daniels claimed that Howard “ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f*ckin’ demon.”

“That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America,” Daniels added to his statements.

Penn has filed a defamation lawsuit against Daniels for the comments, as he has reportedly never been proven to have struck or been accused of hitting any women.

“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,” read the court documents.

Penn notes that the difference between his alleged case with domestic violence is different from Howard’s, as the actor “has never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would confirm and attest.”

Despite his run-ins with the paparazzi, Penn claims that he has never laid a finger on a woman.