"Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels is facing a $10 million defamation suit filed by two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn, charging that the director used "false and defamatory" language in recently comparing Penn to the show's star Terrence Howard.

According to Yahoo, lawyers for Penn insist Daniels made the comparisons in a recent Hollywood Reporter article, where he openly implied Penn has a sordid history of abusing females.

"Daniels falsely equates Penn with Howard, even though, while he has certainly had several brushes with the law, Penn (unlike Howard) has never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would confirm and attest," the suit reads.

Penn's attorney Mathew Rosengart later told reporters his client has grown weary and troubled by all the reckless attacks made on his character over the years and now wants to "correct the record" once and for all.

In the Hollywood Reporter piece, the outspoken Daniels took exception to all the negative media attention Howard has recently received, stemming from his past domestic abuse-related troubles and other accusations made against him by several ex-wives.

"He ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some f*ckin' demon," said Daniels. "That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America."

Season 2 of "Empire" premieres on Fox Sept. 23. Rosenberg hints in his compliant that, based on the timing, Daniels' words may have been "a misguided campaign to profit and further bolster and brand his show."

Howard stars as Lucious Lyon in the series alongside Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon. The show also stars Trai Byers as Andre Lyon, Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon, Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem Lyon, Grace Gealey as Anika Calhoun and Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon.