The Most Troubling Rumor About Madonna And Sean Penn's Marriage

Publish date: 2024-05-04

During Sean Penn's marriage to Madonna, multiple reports circulated that he had been abusive to his wife. In 1989, after they had split, U.K. outlet The People wrote that authorities came to the "Material Girl" singer's home while she was still married to the actor and discovered she had been "bound and gagged" by Penn (via Gawker). 

That same year, Madonna was quick to shut down the reports that her ex had left her tied up. "Extremely inaccurate, as they usually are," she told Rolling Stone in 1989 while discussing the rumors. "They made it all up. But I expect it. They're always making s**t up," Madonna added. The "Lucky Star" artist was also asked about charges she filed (and dropped) against Penn, but she would not go into detail. "It's totally unfair to Sean, too. I have great respect for him."

Madonna once again came to her ex-husband's defense in 2015 when she prepared a statement as part of his defamation suit against Lee Daniels, who claimed the "Milk" star had been abusive. "I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me," Madonna wrote (via The Guardian). "I know the allegations in those and other reports to be completely outrageous, malicious and false," she added. Madonna did concede that tempers occasionally rose during their time together, but she was never assaulted. In fact, she and Penn remained on good terms.

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