Last week’s issue of The Hollywood Reporter featured a big cover story on the cultural/ratings juggernaut that is Empire. Everybody’s thrilled about Season 2, and there’s a lot of pressure to keep the storytelling and the quality at the same level. The biggest problem might be Empire’s lead, Terrence Howard. Howard is not only Code Red Batsh-t Insane, but he’s also a violent sociopath who has brutally, physically assaulted a half-dozen women (that we know of). As Empire heats up, many wonder if Howard will be able to continue to play at this level, given his history of being a violent predator. So, during the Hollywood Reporter profile, THR brought up the Howard conundrum with Lee Daniels, Empire’s creator. As THR writes, the whole cast was told to not say anything about Howard to the press, but Daniel “can’t help himself” and this is what he said:

“That poor boy,” he says, fiercely protective of his actor. He then alludes to other actors who have been the subject of domestic abuse allegations in the past. “[Terrence] ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f—in’ demon,” says Daniels. “That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”

[From THR]

While I think there’s a legitimate discussion to be had about how the media and the audience treats white abusers versus black abusers, I think anytime you say “hey, Sean Penn did the same thing,” your argument sort of falls flat. But now there’s a new wrinkle… Sean Penn didn’t like the fact that Lee Daniels made this comparison. So Penn is suing Daniels. Er…?

Sean Penn has filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Empire creator Lee Daniels. The complaint, filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Court, asserts that in Daniels’ recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Penn was falsely accused of hitting women by being likened to Empire star Terrence Howard.

Penn has retained former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, who declined to comment but referred THR to the first paragraph of the complaint, which states, “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.”

In his complaintPenn nods to reports that Howard has publicly admitted to physically abusing women and says that Daniels’ statements are “egregious” on several levels, including that Daniels, who co-created the Fox hit series Empire and scored an Oscar nomination for directing Precious, appears to acknowledge Howard’s guilt and “also seems to condone Howard’s reported misconduct.”

Penn thinks it’s improper that Daniels came to Howard’s defense as “apparently part of a misguided campaign to profit and further bolster and brand his show Empire (on the eve of the Emmy Awards, when the statements were made).”

“Third, and most problematic,” continues the lawsuit, which mentions Penn’s accolades, including Oscar wins for Milk and Mystic River and charitable endeavors, “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.”

[From THR]

*deep breath*

After Sean Penn hit Madonna with a baseball bat in 1987, she refused to press charges even though she had to be hospitalized. She refused, it was said, because Penn was already facing a jail sentence for assaulting an extra. In December 1989, he broke into Madonna’s Malibu home, tied her to a chair and assaulted her and terrorized her for nine hours. When she finally got away from him, she went straight to the nearest sheriff’s office and Penn was investigated and charged with felony domestic assault. Once again, Madonna asked that the charges be dropped. This is all part of a public record, well documented even now. So while it’s technically true that Penn has never been convicted for domestic violence, that’s not the same as saying he’s never assaulted a woman. Besides, I’d be very interested to hear why Charlize Theron decided to ghost him so hard.

Photos courtesy of WENN.