Sean Penn shuts down rumors about hitting Madonna with a baseball bat

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5th Annual Sean Penn & Friends HELP HAITI HOME Gala Benefiting J/P Haitian Relief
Photo by Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com

Sean Penn has set the record straight about rumors that he hit his former wife, Madonna, with a baseball bat during their four-year marriage.

Penn recounted a dramatic incident involving a SWAT team in an exclusive interview with The New York Times. โ€œI had a freaking SWAT team come into my house,โ€ he shared. This followed Madonnaโ€™s concerns about guns in their home. She told the police, โ€œI said, โ€˜Iโ€™m not coming out. Iโ€™m going to finish my breakfast.โ€™โ€

The Last Face Photocall - Cannes Film Festival 2016
Actor/director Sean Penn at the photocall for โ€œThe Last Faceโ€ at the 69th Festival de Cannes. May 20, 2016 Cannes, France. Photo by Paul Smith / Featureflash

โ€œThe next thing I knew, windows were being broken all around the house and they came in,โ€ Penn explained. โ€œThey had me in handcuffs.โ€

Despite their tumultuous past, Penn revealed that he still has a soft spot for Madonna. โ€œSheโ€™s someone I love,โ€ he admitted. He also noted that repairing a friendship post-divorce is easier without children involved. โ€œIt took [ex-wife Robin Wright] and I quite a while. There was a lot of drama. Much more important to repair it if there are kids involved, but no easy swing, right?โ€ Penn added.

Madonna at the launch of her new perfume
Madonna at the launch of her new perfume on 4/12/12. (NYC) Photo by: KGC-146/starmaxinc.com

Madonna, on her part, has unequivocally denied any physical abuse during her marriage to Penn. In a 2015 statement, while testifying on Pennโ€™s behalf in a defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels, she said, โ€œWhile we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, โ€˜tied me up,โ€™ or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless, and false.โ€

Reflecting on his past relationships, Penn, who has been married three times, expressed a sense of freedom. โ€œIโ€™m just free,โ€ he said. โ€œIf Iโ€™m going to be in a relationship, Iโ€™m still going to be free, or Iโ€™m not going to be in it, and Iโ€™m not going to be hurting.โ€ He added, โ€œI donโ€™t sense Iโ€™ll have my heart broken by romance again.โ€

2023 Toronto International Film Festival - "Daddio" Premiere
Sean Penn. at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival โ€“ โ€œDaddioโ€ premiere held at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 10, 2023 โ€“ Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo By: Brent Perniac/AdMedia

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