Sean Penn has slowed down his acting career but his craft is not to be underestimated since he has already earned two Oscars for his acclaimed performances in the Mystic River and Milk. But, his personal life has often made the roars several times due to his bizarre actions that made him one of the most controversial celebrities in Hollywood.
One such incident involved the 63-year-old actor assaulting two journalists but getting out of the whole fiasco with less than what you would even imagine.
Sean Penn Attacked 2 Innocent Journalists
Back in 1985, the duo met on the set of Madonna’s Material Girl music video. Their relationship quickly advanced as they got married just months later on her 27th birthday. They co-starred together in the 1986 film, Shanghai Surprise however not everything was going well in their marriage as many started to spot evident cracks in their relationship.
While they were already in extreme media and public scrutiny due to their high-profile relationship, things went bad when her now-ex-beau, Sean Penn assaulted two journalists in broad daylight. It happened at the time he was engaged to the Vogue singer.
However, things went wrong when he targeted The Sun freelancers, Laurence Cottrell and Ian Markham-Smith who were waiting for the couple for photographs and to ask them about their forthcoming marriage. It is when the actor recognized the journalists and decided to face them head-on. Despite the duo doing nothing, they ended up facing severe consequences as the I Am Sam actor charged at them.
Cottrell gave an insight into what exactly happened at the time, stating,
“He said, ‘No pictures–you take my picture and I’ll break your back with this rock.’ He used profanity. We asked ‘What’s the problem?’”
He continued,
“Then he came after us and threw the rock at me and hit me in the middle of my back with great force. I was in tremendous pain. He just kept on and on and on. It wasn’t a quick assault.”
Despite the intense assault, he was able to get through it at quite an easy sum.
Madonna’s Ex-Husband, Sean Penn Was Freed on $500 Bond
As the journalists shared, the assault went on for several minutes with the Queen of Pop witnessing the entire fiasco but didn’t bother to halt it.
As Cottrell shared,
“She had a baseball cap on. She pulled it down and looked down to make sure her head wasn’t up for a picture.”
The duo suffered injuries after the assault as the journalist stated that he was provided a back brace meanwhile Markham-Smith reported that he got a black eye with his scalp cut. Despite getting arrested, Penn was able to get himself out after paying a measly bond of $500. Meanwhile, the ex-pair eventually called it quits two years later in their relationship but divorced for good in 1989. Since then, they remained friendly with one another.
Source: UPI
