Producer and director Lee Daniels is aiming to have Sean Penn's defamation lawsuit against him dismissed in court, calling it bogus. Daniels claims that his statement about Penn was a form of provocative rhetoric and added that Spicoli understood the United States Constitution better than Penn.
As reported by Jezebel, Daniels has requested for Penn's $10 million defamation lawsuit to be dismissed claiming that it is "bogus". In Daniel's document, he cited California's anti-SLAPP law despite the case being in the jurisdiction of New York.
Daniels team stated that Penn's lawsuit is bogus because of its core stating that Penn was wronged by Daniels by comparing him to someone else. According to ET Online, the document also included a creative and humorous mention of Penn's character in 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'.
"Spicoli understands the United States Constitution better than Penn. For his final, oral exam in high school history class, surfer-dude Spicoli expounds upon the intent of America's founding fathers: 'What Jefferson was saying was, 'Hey! You know. We left this England place because it was bogus. So if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - Pronto! - we'll just be bogus, too. Okay?'" Daniels' document stated.
"To avoid being bogus, Jefferson and his contemporaries adopted the First Amendment, cherished protector of honest opinions and vigilant striker of lawsuits brought to punish and deter such opinions. This 'cool rule' animates the California and New York laws that mandate dismissal of Penn's bogus claims."
The legal rift between Penn and Daniels was based on a comment made by Daniels about the allegations pressed against Terrence Howard at the time. As reported by Variety, Daniel said that Howard "ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn and all of the sudden he's some f-in' demon. That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America."
Penn's ex-wife, Madonna, has also stepped in on the issue by filing official documents stating that she was never harmed or abused by Penn and that any report stating otherwise is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false.
Penn's lawyer, attorney Mathew Rosengart was not pleased by Daniels' court document saying that he should be ashamed of himself, and claimed that Daniels' move was a desperate effort to hold off the court trial. The legal war began when Penn filed the defamation lawsuit on September of 2015.
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