Considering the wildly successful FoxTV show: Empire
…to its co-creator (Lee Daniels), 10 million bucks may very well be something he has laying around on the table as, he is being sued (for that amount) for defaming an acting legend’s [and his] “urban legend.”
While promoting Empire (in a write up by our friends at the The Hollywood Reporter), Daniels made mention his lead star (Terrence Howard)’s multiple arrests and brushes with the law regarding domestic abuse allegations in the past now being brought to light. He [Daniels] attributes America’s climate right now-and considers that such allegations being brought to light are perhaps a witch hunt of sorts considering Hollywood acting greats like Sean Penn and Marlon Brando had (in the past) been accused of the same.
In the article, Daniels states:
“That poor boy. Terrence ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some fcking demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”
For the record, pop culture legend has remarked Sean’s less than pleasant relationship with the paparazzi which had gone from verbal assaults to outright physical assaults on them for following him [and well.. doing what they 
do]. Additionally, (what Daniel’s is most probably talking about regarding domestic abuse) is that urban legend has it remarked that pop music’s Madonna endured…
*back hand over mouth in gossiping fashion while speaking like a Brit
…a bit-of-“play” while being tied to a chair for several hours.
(Play with that as you wish)…
Needless to say, Penn though the dishonorable mention was all but funny.
Immeeeeeeed-jat-ly, Penn hired Mathew Rosenart who, although refused to comment on the matter referred Hollywood Reporter to the first page of the complaint:
“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.”
As detailed in this extensive Rolling Stone interview (and despite his back story being that as a toddler, he-Terrence Howard-witnessed his father kill a man in a mall) Penn asserts that 
Howard’s has public admission to physically abusing women multiplied by the Daniels’ statement [“That poor boy. Terrence ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some fcking demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.“], is “egregious” on several levels.
And to add insult to injury, Daniels appears to both acknowledge and “condone Terrence’s guilt and reported misconduct” and (in the lawsuit) points out that in addition to Howard’s being arrested and convicted for domestic violence several times, he (“has not been arrested and convicted as his ex wives 
+ Madonna can attest to that”) and finds that the comparisons of Penn and Howard are [quote] most problematic [end quote].
The IAmSam actor and Madonna have been chums throughout the years since their divorce and recently (this week), during her #RebelHeart concert tour; reportedly Penn penned a letter to his former flame telling her (that after 30 years) he finally/has a better appreciation for her art.
https://instagram.com/p/7xmoSvAs3x/?taken-by=joseisaac85
While on stage this week at the Barclays Center this week and sorta “strumming [his] pain with [her] fingers and singing [their] life with [his own] words” Madonna killed Sean (softly) by a sharing the news that her former ‘true-blue’ who (by my choice of words and description of the two) has always been the only one who could tame a “Madonna.”
The superstar said of Penn:
“He had been at my show 30 years earlier when I was at Madison Square Garden, and he was very upset with me for wearing a costume that was too revealing. That’s not a lie! Anyway, after the show he wrote me a letter and said he finally appreciates my art. And that is what I have to say about marriage, OK? Thirty f**king years later.”
The couple were married in 1985 and divorced in 1989.
https://youtu.be/FRJW7UAUedU
