Sean Penn Suing Empire's Lee Daniels For Defamation After Terrence Howard Comparisons

Sean Penn has filed a defamation lawsuit against Empire creator Lee Daniels after he accused him of domestic violence in comparison to Terrence Howard.

“That poor boy [Terrence] ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f�”in’ demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America,” Lee told THR, brushing off Terrence‘s legal troubles concerning domestic violence.

“As a result of Penn‘s status as a public figure, he has for years been the subject of scandalous, scurrilous, and baseless attacks,” the first paragraph of Sean‘s complain reads (via THR). “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.”

“Third, and most problematic,” continues the lawsuit, “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.”

Sean is suing for $10 million.