Terrence Howard, YouTube screenshot
Terrence Howard, known for his roles in “Hustle & Flow,” “Empire,” and “The Best Man,” has recently made headlines not just for his legal battles but also for his bold statements about the challenges he has faced as a Black actor in the entertainment industry.
In a candid interview on Straight Talk with Daphne Joy, Howard (while oddly wearing a pimped-out wig and ’70s gear) talked about how he says he was forced to come out of retirement due to significant financial strains arising from legal fees incurred during a criminal tax investigation, Rolling Out reported. The actor revealed that he spent millions defending himself in this case, leading to his return to work in order to alleviate these burdens. He has disputed that as an ancestor of slaves, he–and other Native Black Americans–should not have to pay taxes.
He is now suing his former agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), alleging that they deliberately underpaid him during his tenure on the hit series “Empire,” despite its immense success and viewership. Howard expressed frustration that while his white counterparts on similar shows were earning several million dollars per episode, he was reportedly compensated significantly less—only $325,000 per episode.
“Creative Artists Agency, they represented me, and they also represented some of the people from ‘Big Bang Theory’ who also did the deal with Fox…We had 28 million viewers, and they had 11 million viewers. They were getting $2 million, damn near $3 million an episode,” Howard said. “Those White kids had no name recognition, no Oscar nominations, or none of that. But we had 28 million viewers, and these jokers are paying me $325,000 an episode.”
He said he feels CAA owes him $100 million, Black Enterprise reported.
Terrence Howard, YouTube screenshot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zuufDIfzsI
