Sean Penn Sues Producer of "Empire" for Suggesting He's A Domestic Abuser Who Gets A Free Pass Because He's White

Sean Penn (left) and Lee Daniels.
Penn was reported to have beat his then wife, pop singer Madonna, with a baseball bat.

By AP
Sean Penn on Tuesday filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against "Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels over comments Daniels made comparing him to the show's star Terrence Howard, who's been repeatedly accused of domestic violence.

RELATED STORY: Is Madonna still in love with Sean Penn, the man who beat her up with a baseball bat?

Daniels' comments appeared online about a week ago in the entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter in a story about the upcoming season of the popular Fox television show.

"That poor boy (Terrence) ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some ... demon," Daniels said in the article. "That's a sign of time, of race, of where we are right now in America."

RELATED STORY: Sean Penn’s Horrifying History of Alleged Abuse

Penn's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan civil court, says Daniels' statements were egregious and injured Penn's credibility and reputation personally, professionally and in his philanthropic activities.

Penn has won two best actor Oscars, for "Mystic River" and "Milk." He has made a major humanitarian push in Haiti after it was devastated by an earthquake, co-founding the J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

But he also has a reputation for angry behavior. In 2010, he pleaded no contest to vandalism after he kicked a celebrity photographer, but the case later was dismissed.

In the 1980s, he was in court in connection with fisticuffs and spitting. He beat a man he thought was trying to kiss Madonna in a nightclub, and he admitted driving recklessly and punching an extra on the set of the movie "Colors."

His attorney Mathew Rosengart said the lawsuit isn't just about Daniels' comments.

"Sean has been the subject of numerous baseless attacks over the years, as the complaint provides, and this is only the most recent example," he said.

Daniels is the Oscar-nominated filmmaker of "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," ''The Paperboy" and "The Butler." The new season of "Empire," which he created with Danny Strong, starts Wednesday.

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Murderer of Trayvon Martin Arrested — Again: George Zimmerman Charged With Aggravated Assault

Protesters at the Minneapolis, MN rally in response to George Zimmerman's
not guilty verdict,  July 15, 2013. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

By Zachary Fagenson

RELATED STORY: George Zimmerman Charged With Aggravated Assault - Held Without Bail —  Alleged to have Pointed Shotgun at Girlfriend - Police Seek Search Warrant for Guns

George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted in a fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in 2013, was charged with aggravated assault on Saturday after his arrest in connection with a domestic disturbance in Florida.

RELATED STORY: Prosecutor Who 'Intentionally' Blew George Zimmerman Case — Has Record of Disproportionately Seeking Death Penalty for Black Men, Charging Minority Kids As Adults

Zimmerman, wearing a blue jumpsuit and handcuffs, appeared before Florida Circuit Judge John D. Galluzzo who offered him a $5,000 bond, ordered him to turn over any firearms and restricted his travel to Seminole County in central Florida.

RELATED STORY: White Supremacist Who Backed George Zimmerman Has 'Change of Heart' — Now Says Zimmerman Racially Profiled Trayvon Martin and Got Away With Murder

“Anywhere else in the state and we have a problem,” the judge said.

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Hope Solo Assault Case Getting Little Publicity: She's Famous - But Apparently Domestic Abuse Is Only Important When The Perpertrator is a Man

Hope Solo. (Photo by Nicole Miller)

By Kevin Paul Dupont
Hope Solo, her two Olympic gold medals (2008, ’12) earned with the United States women’s soccer team, learned last week that her trial on domestic abuse charges has been set for Jan. 20.

And then her life went on. Virtually absent any public hue and cry. It has been that way ever since she was arrested back in June. No doubt that’s in part because TMZ has yet to reveal a Hope Solo “Goalkeeper Goes Ballistic’’ tape as it did when Ray Rice was shown flattening his then-fianceé and pulling her unconscious body out of an Atlantic City elevator the way a butcher might drag a slab of beef across a freezer floor. And, to be fair, it’s possible Solo never did go ballistic and the charges against her are exaggerated or an outright sham.

For the record, her attorney, Todd Maybrown, claims Solo was the victim in the alleged dustup.

Yet it remains disturbing, and more than hints at a double standard, that Solo’s alleged acts have flown so beneath the radar of public opinion, and have been all but ignored by those who put her in uniform, including US Soccer. In a time when domestic abuse is so much in our collective sports consciousness, so reviled and condemned, Solo’s alleged actions have barely caused a stir.

Why? Because this is a woman as the alleged perpetrator? Because this is a female soccer player and not a male football player?

Abuse is abuse, be it dished out by a man or a woman, be the victim male, female, adult, or adolescent. No matter what the sport. Solo is a professional athlete, a decorated US national team member idolized by young fans, especially American girls with Olympic dreams. We certainly know from recent cases that a man similarly charged with domestic abuse would not be allowed to meander so, shall we say, leisurely and inconspicuously through the due process of our legal system or the court of public opinion.

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'Why Hope Solo Should Be Suspended From Team USA Immediately': Media Smashed Black Athletes On Domestic Violence - White Female Athlete Abuser Gets Free Ride

Apparently, as white female athlete, Hope Solo didn't fit the narrative (men abusing women) that domestic violence advocates were promoting.

Hope Solo. (Photo by kkimphotography)

Many of the very same people who screamed for suspensions and firings of black athletes for domestic violence were dead silent on soccer player Hope Solo who has been charged with attacking her sister, nephew and mother. Solo admitted and apologized for the attack, but she continues to play while her domestic violence case is pending. Of course, there's been no national uproar.

By Kate Fagan
Hope Solo should not be playing right now for the U.S. Women's National soccer team.

Earlier this year, the star keeper was arrested for allegedly attacking her sister and 17-year-old nephew. The police report said Solo was "intoxicated and upset," and she allegedly called her nephew "too fat" to be an athlete. Also according to the report, the boy had blood on his shirt, and his mother (Solo's sister) was visibly injured.

After a flurry of media reports directly after the June altercation -- Solo has a court date set for November -- very little has been said or written in the media about the pending case. After a brief hiatus, Solo quietly went back to playing with her club team, the Seattle Reign, as well as with the national team, which is in the final stages of qualifying for the 2015 Women's World Cup.

Looking the other way when star athletes face charges of domestic violence has been the standard operating procedure for decades. Nothing to see here; keep it moving. And in this way, sports have merely reflected society, where domestic violence goes underpunished, underreported and misunderstood.

[...]

"Solo is accused of violence against a family member; she should be suspended until she handles her legal issues. It's worth noting that a lack of national coverage (to this moment, anyway) of Solo's situation isn't as much a reflection of a double-standard in the coverage of assault as it is a reflection of the attention paid to the NFL versus the attention paid to women's sports. Female athletes mostly fly below the radar -- for better and for worse."

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This Brazilian is Using Twitter to Take on Aggressive and Racist Housemaid Employers

A slave carrying a white child on her back in 1870 in Bahia, Brazil. (Photo courtesy
Instituto Moreira Salles/Geledés)

NOTE: Most links lead to pages in Portuguese.

By Fernanda Canofre
Last week, the Twitter account @aminhaempregada (my maid) starting retweeting shocking, aggressive and racist tweets that Brazilian employers of domestic workers publish.
The Portuguese language account offers a glimpse into the social prejudice, racism and lack of empathy that exists in Brazilian society, especially with regards to attitudes towards domestic workers. The account has close to 10k followers so far.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 92 percent of the country's 7.2 million domestic workers are women, and of these women, 60 percent are black.
The Minha Empregada account has been created by a 33-year-old publicist from Sao Paulo who doesn’t want to be identified. Many retweets from employers mention race when complaining about their domestic worker:

@hardcorejuno empregadops melhores tipos de negros
— Vivi (@vivimetralha) 6 janeiro 2014

Housemaids are the best type of black people.

minha empregada trabalha aqui a 2 anos,e ela é negra,meu cachorro ainda late oda vez que ve ela…e eu tambem — Jeba Dourada (@Ofredelicia) 18 fevereiro 2013

my maid has been working here for two years, and she is black, my dog still barks everytime he sees her…and so do I.

Or they take a condescending view about the workers’ assumed origins in Brazil’s northeast, one of the poorest regions:

@SejaRazoavel xenofobia e não aceitaçao do estrangeiro… Eu aceito muito minha empregada em sao paulo, e ela é nordestina.. Hahahah
— Ale (@iAleMonteiro) 28 outubro 2011

xenophobia is the non-acceptance of a foreigner…I do accept my maid in Sao Paulo, and she is a northeastern…Hahahah

Some tweets use a derogatory tone to complain about the maids or shame them:

eu to aqui no ar condicionado e to de porta fechada e dai a ANTA DA MINHA EMPREGADA ao invès de bater na porta ela abre com tudo +
— bella (@familybieberbr) 13 dezembro 2010

I'm here with the air conditioner on, behind closed doors, and here comes MY MORON MAID, instead of knocking on the door, she just opens it

Others even threaten violence:

Sorte da minha empregada q eu to chegando tarde em casa… deixa eu esbarrar com essa caralhuda p ela se ligar na voadora no pescoço — Gerson Roque (@roquegerson) 21 maio 2014

It’s my maid’s luck that I’m coming home late…wait till I bump into that dick(head) and send her flying with a kick on her neck

A portrait of prejudice
As the author of the profile shows in some of his tweets, many people caught on his timeline shaming domestic workers try to explain themselves and deny any racism on their part.  Other Twitter profiles – such as @NãoSouHomofóbico (I'm not homophobic) and @NãoSouRacista (I'm not racist) – attest to this difficulty that Brazilians have owning up to their racism, sexism and other prejudices.

An article published by the leftist magazine Carta Capital and republished by the Institute of Black Women Geledés, highlights the social gap issue behind the matter:

The hiring of house workers on a large scale is a consequence of a country’s social delay. The fact that there are people earning enough [money] so that another person does the job they themselves could do shows a nation’s gap of social inequality. The proportions of this kind of work's existence is that one one side, there is a surplus of workers with no qualifications for any other kind of work, and on the other side, a class that makes enough to buy someone else’s labor.

Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, becoming the last country in the Western world to do so. However, without education or vocational training, many newly freed black women began to earn their living as domestic workers, a legacy that continues to this day.

Over the years, the condition of domestic workers in Brazil has improved. Today, fewer and fewer maids are living in their employers’ homes (where they have to be available for work round the clock), and are therefore relatively more independent and can also charge a higher payment for their services. Nevertheless, the attitude of incivility and under-appreciation of domestic workers continue.

Last year, after a painful debate, Brazil for the first time approved a constitutional amendment to protect domestic workers rights. However, though the law has been passed at the Senate, it is waiting to be voted by the Chamber of Deputies only after which it can be brought into force.

Reprinted with permission from Global Voices.

Murderer of Trayvon Martin Gets Yet Another Reprieve: Zimmerman 'Girlfriend' Drops Charges of Aggravated Assault, Battery, Criminal Mischief - Changes Story

George Zimmerman: After his acquittal in the murder of teen Trayvon Martin, he has had many run-ins with law enforcement. He has been stopped for speeding twice; he was involved in a domestic violence dispute with his estranged wife who has revealed doubts about his innocence in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The Police Chief in the Florida town where Zimmerman once resided has called  Zimmerman a "ticking time bomb" and another "Sandy Hook" waiting to happen. In the latest incident, Zimmerman was charged with aggravated assault, battery, and criminal mischief by his new 'girlfriend'.  Now this new accuser claims she may have 'misspoken' while talking to police during her 911 call. Was she threatened or paid off?

Original
911 CALL

By Arturo Garcia
The woman who accused George Zimmerman last month of pointing a shotgun at her and moving her possessions out of her own home has recanted her statements in new court documents, ABC News reported on Monday.

“I do not want George Zimmerman charged,” Samantha Scheibe stated in a Dec. 6 affadavit.

Continue Reading...

George Zimmerman’s Girlfriend Contradicts Prior Statements and Drops Charges Against Him

George Zimmerman’s girlfriend contradicts prior statements and drops charges against him (via Raw Story )

The woman who accused George Zimmerman last month of pointing a shotgun at her and moving her possessions out of her own home has recanted her statements in new court documents, ABC News reported on Monday. “I do not want George Zimmerman charged,”…

George Zimmerman's Ex-Girlfriend Says He Sent Sex Tape Footage and Images to Her Daughter - As Court Bans Him From Owning Guns

George Zimmerman.

By Ronald Jackson, November 21, 2013
Right-wingers are accusing Zimmerman's ex-girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, of pursuing Zimmerman because of his 'fame' and 'setting him up' for public embarassment. However, Scheibe says she knew Zimmerman for 12 years, and dated him before he murdered Trayvon Martin. She claims their relationship was rekindled as his marriage soured. Scheibe says the killer of Trayvon Martin is "fascinated by guns" and sent stills and video from "an intimate home video" they made together to her daughter. Scheibe says that when she demanded Zimmerman get professional "help" for his problems, it sparked renewed conflict between them.

Watch a video report:

George Zimmerman's 'Karma': Killer of Trayvon Martin Arraigned in Same Courthouse of Trayvon Martin Murder Trial

The former neighborhood watchman, who was acquitted of murdering the 17-year-old unarmed teen, was cuffed after a domestic dispute with his reportedly pregnant new girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe. But this isn't Zimmerman's first run-in with the law since the court case, as he was also involved in a domestic conflict in September with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Shellie.

By Lisa Lucas AND Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 12:34 PM

George Zimmerman is bound for a familiar place — a Sanford, Fla. courtroom.

The pistol-packing former neighborhood watchman will be arraigned on an assault charge Tuesday in the same courthouse where he was found not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman, who spent the night in jail, is accused of threatening his new girlfriend with a long-barrel shotgun during a fracas at her Florida home.

And while Zimmerman, 30, had legal heavy hitters Don West and Mark O'Mara in his corner four months ago, for this court appearance he will be relying on a court-appointed attorney named Jeff Dowdy.

READ MORE...

 

George Zimmerman Charged With Aggravated Assault - Held Without Bail: Alleged to have Pointed Shotgun at Girlfriend - Police Seek Search Warrant for Guns

Since his aquittal in the murder of black teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman has been called a "ticking time bomb" by the Police Chief of the town where he resided and his estranged wife has expressed doubts about his innocence in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Protesters at the Minneapolis, MN rally in response to George Zimmerman's
not guilty verdict,  July 15, 2013. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

By Ronald Jackson
George Zimmerman has been arrested for domestic violence in Orlando, FL according to a report from the Associated Press. Seminole County Sheriff deputies reportedly responded to 911 "disturbance call" at a house.  The alleged "domestic dispute" involved a girlfriend who was not Zimmerman's estranged wife.

Zimmerman's girlfriend, Samantha Schiebe, told the 911 dispatcher that Zimmerman broke furniture and pointed a shotgun at her, according to Dennis Lemma, chief deputy with the Seminole County (FL) Sheriff's Office. Zimmerman was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, a felony, other misdemeanor charges and held without bail. A search warrant is being sought to hunt for guns believed to be hidden inside of the home where Zimmerman was arrested.

911 CALL

George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin.  He was later involved in a domestic violence dispute with his estranged wife who has revealed doubts about his innocence in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The Police Chief in the Florida town where Zimmerman once resided has called Zimmerman a "ticking time bomb" and another "Sandy Hook" waiting to happen.

George Zimmerman Arrested in Another Domestic Violence Incident

Since his aquittal in the murder of black teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman has been called a "ticking time bomb" by the Police Chief of the town where he resided and his estranged wife has expressed doubts about his innocence in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Protesters at the Minneapolis, MN rally in response to George Zimmerman's
not guilty verdict,  July 15, 2013. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

By Ronald Jackson
George Zimmerman has been arrested for domestic violence in Orlando, FL according to a report from the Associated Press. Seminole County Sheriff deputies reportedly responded to 911 "disturbance call" at a house.  The alleged "domestic dispute" involved a "girlfriend" who was not Zimmerman's estranged wife.

George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin.  He was later involved in a domestic violence dispute with his estranged wife who has revealed doubts about his innocence in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The Police Chief in the Florida town where Zimmerman once resided has called Zimmerman a "ticking time bomb" and another "Sandy Hook" waiting to happen.