Madonna is defending ex-husband Sean Penn against allegations he’s a wife-beater.
The pop superstar submitted a sworn statement in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday to support Penn’s $10 million defamation lawsuit against “Empire” creator Lee Daniels.
Daniels suggested in a September interview that Penn has abused women. He told Hollywood Reporter that “Empire” star Terrence Howard, who has a record of violence against women, “ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f - - kin’ demon.”
Penn sued, saying the remarks tarnished his reputation.
Daniels responded in court papers that a “Google search of ‘Sean Penn and domestic violence’ produces 432,000 results.” But Madonna said allegations Penn hit her in 1987 and tied her to a chair in 1989 are “completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false.”
She admits: “While we certainly had more than one heated argument . . . Sean has never struck me, ‘tied me up,’ or physically assaulted me.”
The two were married from 1985 to 1989.
But Madonna said in the statement she’s known Penn for “30 years” and considers him a “caring, compassionate individual.”
This article originally appeared in the New York Post's Page Six.
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