Madonna denies 'malicious' allegations ex-husband Sean Penn hit her in evidence for defamation case

Sean brought a $10 million case against Daniels for defamation after he accused the actor of hitting women in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

On Thursday, Sean filed a statement from his ex-wife that called him “caring and compassionate” and addressed two frequently reported incidents of alleged violence during their marriage from 1985 to 1989.

She wrote: “I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me.

“Specifically, I am aware of the allegations concerning an alleged incident that occurred in June 1987, whereby (according to tabloid reports) Sean allegedly struck me with ‘a baseball bat’. I know the allegations in those and other reports to be completely outrageous, malicious and false.

“I am also aware of allegations concerning an incident that occurred in December 1989, which purportedly resulted in Sean’s arrest for domestic assault and battery against me. I know those allegations to be false.

“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.”

The second reference is likely to be to an event in 1988 when she made a complaint that Penn had assaulted her to the Malibu sheriff’s office. However, she withdrew her complaint a week later.

Daniels had compared Terrence Howard – who admitted to hitting his wife – to Sean in the offending interview.

“(Terrence) ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f***ing demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America,” Daniels said.

Daniels is claiming the first amendment, the right to free speech, in his defence.