Sean Penn Sues over Lee Daniels’ Hollywood Reporter Interview on Terrence Howard

There’s another lawsuit over comments made in an interview.

Actor Sean Penn announced a $10 million lawsuit against producer Lee Daniels over Daniels’s Hollywood Reporter interview which suggested domestic abuse by Penn, Mashable reported.

Daniels told the Hollywood Reporter that Terrence Howard, who plays Lucious Lyon in the Fox TV show Empire which Daniels co-created, “ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f*cking demon.”

Penn’s lawsuit says Daniels’ comments were “reckless, false and defamatory” and that Penn is “one of this generation’s most highly-acclaimed and greatest artists and humanitarians.”

Deadline posted the lawsuit here.

“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,” the lawsuit states, according to Mashable.

(The Washington Post reminded: “Penn, it should be noted, was involved in an alleged domestic dispute with Madonna in 1988; it is disputed whether he was charged, as People reported. He did serve time in jail in 1987 for violating probation after facing charges for brawling and reckless driving.”)

The lawsuit also states:

“The above-referenced false and defamatory statements made by Daniels have caused Penn great anguish and emotional distress and have exposed him to pre-judgments and false judgments, which have injured Penn’s credibility and reputation in his personal life, occupation, and philanthropic activities, the latter of which are particularly important in view of Penn’s significant and high-profile positions.”

The lawsuit also points to how the comments were spread in the media, including the Sept. 16 Daily Mail headline: “‘I slapped her in front of the kids’: Terrence Howard admits he hit his first wife and got physical with the second . . . but Empire creator Lee Daniels says he’s no ‘different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn.'”