Madonna: Sean Penn has never 'physically assaulted me'
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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.”
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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.”
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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.