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NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Madonna says ex-husband Sean Penn never physically assaulted her, contrary to reports. The 57-year-old singer defended the 55-year-old actor in new court documents submitted in Penn's defamation lawsuit this week. Penn sued director Lee Daniels in September after he insinuated the actor was abusive to women.
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"While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, 'tied me up,' or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false," Madonna said in her statement.
The singer specifically denied reports Penn beat her with a baseball bat in 1987, and that he was arrested for inflicting "corporal injury and traumatic conditions" in 1989. She and the actor were wed from 1985 to 1989, and co-starred in the 1986 flop Shanghai Surprise.
Penn is seeking $10 million from Daniels, who made the remarks in a September interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The Empire co-creator compared the actor to alleged abuser Marlon Brando while defending Empire star Terrence Howard.
"[Terrence] ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some [expletive] demon," Daniels said of Michelle Ghent's assault claim against Howard. "That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America."
Madonna followed up Thursday on Instagram by writing, "A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right & evil doesn't become good, just because it's accepted by a majority." The singer last released Rebel Heart in March, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
