Did Sean Penn beat Madonna? 2015 allegations explored as actor reflects on tumultuous relationship with singer

Both Sean Penn and Madonna have, in their declarations, declared that the actor did not beat Madonna. The undercurrent of their tumultuous wedlock in the '80s has always been a subject of gossip, but there were no charges registered in that matter. And in 2015, Madonna herself sent out a formal statement, disavowing that Sean Penn had ever laid a hand on her.

Madonna, in an affidavit that she provided during a case over defamation, which was initiated by Penn against director Lee Daniels and which was sparked by the latter's likening of Penn to Terrence Howard in matters of alleged domestic abuse, said:

“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.” - Source: Affidavit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, 2015

The star, who was Madonna's spouse from 1985 to 1989, spoke again about their time together on the podcast The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked to give his thoughts, Penn referred to their relationship as very intense at the same time, inadequate in terms of duration.

“It didn’t take us long to realise that we had mistaken a good first date for a wedding partner.” He added that they managed to rebuild a friendship within a year of their divorce, saying, “she’s been a good friend for a lot of years. I have a lot of fond memories of it – it’s not all jail.”

Reference to the "jail" has most likely been made in connection with the extensive tabloid coverage about the occasions when Penn was in countercurrent with paparazzi and the law during those days, rather than any domestic violence against Madonna.

Violence allegations and media sensationalism

The 2015 allegations took origin from the stories that spread again in the tabloids and celebrities' gossip blogs not rarely misreported things like that Penn had the singer tied to a chair and hit with a baseball bat in 1987. The very same were proved to be just rumors, and further checking showed no police record or fresh witness supporting them.

On the occasion of the uproar in the media caused by Lee Daniels' statements in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Madonna told the court that those stories were, in fact, the result of fabricated situations because she was neither victim nor witness to it.

Sean Penn filed a lawsuit against Daniels for $10 million, and the case was settled afterward, and the words of Madonna, which found him to be innocent of those charges, were at the time. The latter part of the statement was a clear proof of his exoneration.

Sean Penn on celebrity culture and regrets

During a talk Sean Penn had with Louis Theroux in 2025, he admitted that the manner in which he used to react to the media very aggressively might have been the cause of the public forming a distorted image of his character.

“I’m probably partially responsible for this explosion that led to all this. Extreme creepy fascination with famous people… My life was much simpler before [meeting Madonna]. But she became a lightning rod of attention. I was there.”

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They both expressed their feelings of respect they have for each other, despite the initial differences. In her 1991 documentary In Bed with Madonna, the singer portrayed Penn as "the love of her life," and he became extremely well known.

As usual, the media told a distorted story, but this time it was more of a misunderstanding of the facts instead of what actually happened. Drama-filled newspapers, on the other hand, stuck to their violent course as the plot of this "love saga" went on.

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