Madonna spoke out for Sean Penn after he filed a defamation suit against Empire co-creator Lee Daniels for allegations of domestic violence, but it hasn’t helped. This past Tuesday (Feb. 2) it was requested that a judge dismiss the case against Daniels despite an affidavit from his ex-wife that he never abused her.
Penn decided to sue Daniels after he said in an interview last September that, “Terrence ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f*ckin’ demon.”
In the interview, Daniels was speaking of the show’s star, Terrence Howard’s reporting domestic violence. Penn took offense because of his mention in the interview and felt that he had been poorly represented. Penn has vehemently denied in the past that he has ever been abusive and Madonna spoke out in an amendment to the complaint.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daniels is using the anti-SLAPP law in order to deflect Penn’s suit, saying in a statement, “Regardless of whether California or New York law is applied, dismissal is required because the core of the complaint - that Daniels wronged Penn by falsely comparing Penn to someone else - is constitutionally ‘bogus.”
By using the anti-SLAPP law, Daniels is also saying that the interview was done in California, where Penn also lives. In order for Penn’s suit to continue, he will need to prove that Daniel’s statement in the interview was made with ill intentions.
When Madonna initially stepped up to defend her ex-husband she asserted that he had never assaulted her during their time together.
“I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me,” Madonna said in a statement released to Rolling Stone. A specific incident mentioned was the allegation that Penn had struck her with a baseball bat in 1987, which supposed lead to his arrest for domestic assault and battery.
