Sean Penn Faces Battery Charges

Perennial Hollywood troublemaker Sean Penn faces misdemeanor battery and vandalism charges the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office announced on Friday. The charges stem from an altercation with a photographer last October in L.A.’s Brentwood area. The two-time Academy Award winner could face up to 18 months in jail for allegedly kicking photographer Jordan Dawes and damaging expensive camera equipment in the process, according to City Attorney Frank Matelijan.

The episode was a very public bookend of a tumultuous year for Penn, who won an Oscar for Milk in February but filed for divorce again from wife Robin Wright Penn in August. Penn also had several run-ins with paparazzi in the ’80s, and even traded his red-carpet attire for an orange jumpsuit after striking an extra on a film set in 1987. Penn has also been the subject of controversy for his leftist political efforts, including meetings with Cuban President Raul Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez in recent years. –AHMED MORI