Terrence Howard wants his money
In a recent interview with host Daphne Phaneē, the 55-year-old actor, dressed in a grey suit and an orange wig, discussed his experience.
“I had an issue at Fox and Disney because…the image that you see of us on Empire, profile, that came from a still shot from Hustle & Flow,” accused Howard. “They took that, flipped that, and put it on everything. They took the trademark of it, sold it around the world, didn’t ask my permission…That image is worth $100 million at least for how much money that they made from it. We got a forensic photographer to find the actual frame.”
He said, "CAA represented me. They also portrayed some of the characters from Big Bang Theory. They also completed the transaction with Fox. My show was on Fox, as were the people from Big Bang. We had 28 million views. They drew 11 million viewers. They were making $2 million, almost $3 million per episode. Those white kids...they had no name recognition, no Oscar nominations, nothing. We have 28 million viewers, and these jokers pay me $325,000 per episode.
“Every year, I’m asking my agents what’s going on … I didn’t know that the packaging deal… my agents were incentivized to keep my pay low,” the Lullaby Acor claimed. “They owe me over $120 million based on what would’ve been paid to white counterparts, so now I’m in the process of suing them.
He continued to ask, “When I asked about my money, they sent me a check for $666 dollars….666 exactly…So I was like, y’all trying to threaten me. This is a threat right here. And y’all think I’m scared? Y’all think I’m going to be quiet? Because I wonder what you’re doing to every other Black artist.”
The case was initially reported in December 2023, and it stated that Howard's salary ranged from $125,000 to $325,000 per episode.
“Mr. Howard will be filing a lawsuit based upon the duties his agents simply failed, time and time again,” shared attorney James Bryant of the Cochran Law Firm, at the time.
“This is a man who was the lead actor to, once again, one of the most successful television shows in network history where Fox was making over $125 million a year in just ad revenue alone. This man was being underpaid time and time again.”
Video courtesy Urban Hollywood 411