A collage of Sean Penn and Madonna posing on red carpets

Sean Penn Slams Rumors Of Hitting Madonna With A Baseball Bat: 'She’s Someone I Love'

Home / News / Sean Penn Slams Rumors Of Hitting Madonna With A Baseball Bat: 'She’s Someone I Love'

By Afouda Bamidele on June 24, 2024 at 9:30 AM EDT

Over three decades after Sean Penn finalized his divorce from Madonna, he is still denying the persistent rumor that he hit the singer with a baseball bat.

The Hollywood veteran recently cleared the air about the abuse allegations in a candid interview, stressing that he had never hit his ex-wife. He also noted the "Material Girl" hitmaker had previously refuted the speculations.

Sean Penn and Madonna were married from 1985 to 1989, an infamously contentious union that sparked abuse claims in 1987.

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Sean Penn Denies Trussing Madonna Up Like A Turkey

Sean Penn arrives for photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals
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When asked about the infamous fights that allegedly destroyed his marriage to Madonna, Penn could not help but recall his exhaustion over the life-altering rumors.

"I had a freaking SWAT team come into my house," he said, noting that Madonna told the police she was worried because there were guns in the house.

"I said: 'I'm not coming out. I'm going to finish my breakfast.' The next thing I knew, windows were being broken all around the house, and they came in. They had me in handcuffs," he claimed.

The "Daddio" actor belatedly realized that cops believed the rumors that he had "trussed [Madonna] up like a turkey," a phrase he initially didn't understand until a woman he shared the night with confronted him about the abuse speculations.

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"She's looking at me like I killed her dog," he lamented to the New York Times, recalling the woman asked if he had hit Madonna in the head with a baseball bat. "I didn't know what the hell she was talking about," Penn said.

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The Hollywood Veteran Claims He's Still On Amicable Terms With Madonna

Sean Penn and Madonna Jogging
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The 63-year-old actor doubled down on the baseball bat incident never happening, noting that his ex-wife would have experienced visible injuries if the alleged abuse had occurred. In his words:

"Now, I think it's fair to say that I'm not the biggest guy in the world. But if I hit Mike Tyson in the head with a baseball bat, he's going to the hospital."

Penn also backed up his innocence with claims of a continued friendship with Madonna, noting the singer still had a place in his heart. "She's someone I love," he said, adding that they worked on raising funds for Haiti.

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As for their recent show of love, the Hollywood veteran claimed the Queen of Pop agreed to do "a really terrific" video for a peace summit about Ukraine. "It turns out it's a lot quicker to repair a friendship after divorce if there are no kids involved," Penn chimed.

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Madonna Denied The Abuse Claims During A Defamation Lawsuit

Madonna kicks off her world tour "The Celebration Tour" with her first concert in London.
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In his interview, Penn recalled that Madonna had cleared up the abuse allegations in 2015 during his legal battle against director Lee Daniels. The drama began when the "Empire" showrunner defended the show's star, Terrence Howard.

Daniels said that Howard's admission that he had hit his wife was no different from what Penn had done. In retaliation, the latter sued the film director for $10 million in a defamation lawsuit and earned Madonna's support.

The "Vogue" hitmaker provided an affidavit, saying, "While we certainly had more than one heated argument … Sean has never struck me, 'tied me up' or physically assaulted me." She also described her ex-husband as a "caring, compassionate individual."

"Not only did we win the case, but Daniels wrote a public letter, and he had to contribute to CORE," Penn gloated about his settlement with the film director. Part of the apology read:

"I am sorry that I have hurt you, Sean, and I apologize and retract my reckless statements about you."

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Penn Was Engaged To Another Actress Before Madonna

Actor Sean Penn wears a sharp suit and smokes a cigarette as he chats with friends outside his hotel in Miami
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Before saying his vows to Madonna, Penn stole the heart of "Downton Abbey" star Elizabeth McGovern. They met on the set of the movie, "Racing with the Moon," in 1984 and quickly fell head over heels for each other and got engaged.

Unfortunately, McGovern was not ready to settle down at 23. "In the beginning, it was fun. We were a similar age and in the same place professionally, so we were experiencing everything together," she recalled in an interview, per PEOPLE.

"We lasted a couple of years on and off. I didn't want to get married, but he did — or at least he said he did," she continued, adding, "It was so exhausting, I couldn't sustain it. We also wanted to do different things. He likes to pretend he's not really a Hollywood person, but he is."

Sean Penn's Relationships After Madonna

Robin Wright and Sean Penn at the 15th Annual SAG Awards held in Los Angeles
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As stated, Penn and Madonna were married from 1985 to 1989. Despite their numerous ups and downs, the singer claimed she was "still in love" with the actor during a charity gala at Art Basel in 2016.

However, Penn did not dwell on their divorce and found love again with actress Robin Wright. The couple welcomed two children, daughter Dylan in 1991 and son Hopper in 1993, before saying their vows in 1996.

They stayed together for over a decade until their divorce in 2010. Unfortunately, the pair did not separate on good terms, with Penn claiming, "We don't not get along. We have very separate relationships with our kids at this point, and it seems to work better that way."

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