Terrence Howard.Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Terrence Howardis suing his former agency CAA for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and fraudulent representation.
The complaint claims that CAA also represented producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and became the “packaging agent for the project” and thus were “willing to waive their standard 10% agency.”
Because of this, the complaint alleges that the agency informed Howard that “their compensation was being built into the project’s budget and paid separately.”
Terrence Howard on ‘Empire’.FOX/Getty Images
Though he was “unfamiliar with particularities involved in these types of packaging deals,” the complaint claims that Howard “continued to believe that his agents were serving his best interests at all times.” It also states that he wasn’t privy to the “conflicts of interest” involved in the deal.
The complaint notes that the actor believed it was “commendable of them to avoid ‘double dipping’ on fees obtained as the packaging agent and those fees obtained from their actors.”
The practice of agencies receiving packaging fees has since been banned after Writers Guild of America fought to reform the practice in 2020.
A spokesperson for CAA, as well as reps for Daniels and Strong, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Terrence Howard.Larry Busacca/Getty
According to the complaint, it wasn’t until “years later” that “Howard would discover that CAA was in fact keeping his best interests at the forefront” and prioritized their “own financial interests as well as the interests of the Production Companies they also represented ahead of his own.”
WhenEmpiredebuted on Fox in January 2015, the musical drama became an instant hit. The series received critical acclaim and marked Fox’s “highest rated debut in three years,” according to the lawsuit.
Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson in ‘Empire’.FOX Image Collection via Getty
AsEmpirecontinued to grow in popularity and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, the lawsuit claims that Howard “once again” asked his agents at CAA to request his overall salary increase “to reflect comparable compensation packages” of other lead actors in successful shows.
In response to his request, the complaint alleges that his CAA agents gave him a list of compensation numbers that other lead actors received for their roles at the time. It claims that Kevin Spacey’s compensation forHouse of Cardsand John Hamm’s forMad Menwere at the top of the list for a “total episodic fee for Season 4 of $450k and $350k respectively.”
“He reasonably believed that the comparisons that his agents were provided to him were an accurate reflection of what he should be paid,” the complaint adds.
Terrence Howard.Jason Kempin/Getty Images
The complaint continues, “Had Howard been provided that information, which would have more accurately reflected what his compensation should have been, as Howard’s agent, CAA would have been duty bound to make their best efforts to renegotiate Howard’s compensation to accurately reflect what he should have been paid for such a popular television."
Howard is seeking compensation for “exemplary and/or punitive damage,” legal fees and “other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.”
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Howard’s attorney, Carlos Moore shared the same sentiments, declaring that “discovery will show this was racism.”
“There’s two types of lawyers in LA, two types of lawyers pretty much in the world,” Howard said, adding that the lawsuit may be a “death blow” to his career. “Those that work for Disney, or those that want to work for Disney. The conflicts of interest were there.”
source: people.com
