Terrence Howard has said he’s ready to quit acting, blaming a lack of major roles being offered to him ever since he sued Fox and talent agency CAA.
The 56-year-old Oscar-nominated actor sued 20th Century Studios in 2020, a year after it had been acquired by the Walt Disney Company, over allegations of unpaid royalties related to his starring role in the hit series Empire. In 2023, he sued his own agency CAA for an alleged conflict of interest over his salary on the same show.
Speaking on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Howard said: “My whole goal now is to disappear from that side of it,”
Asked by Maher if that meant he intends to quit acting, Howard responded: “I’ve got to, dude. I’m on the the Chitlin' Circuit now, after I sued Fox.”
The Chitlin' Circuit was a network of venues that existed during the era of segregation.
Asked by Maher what it means in a modern context, Howard explained: “No studio movies. No big television stuff. Everything is on the outskirts. Why? Because you don’t f*** with the Mouse. I f***ed with the Mouse. I sued the Mouse, I sued Fox, and I’m suing CAA right now. But it’s about my money. If someone takes $300 million from you, you’re like: ‘Dude!’ You’ve got to go for it.”
In the lawsuit he filed against CAA in December 2023, Howard alleged that his agents prioritized the interests of themselves and the show’s producers in their dealings with Fox.
He claimed they induced him to accept a below-market salary during his six-season stint on the series.
“I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves,” said Howard at the time.
CAA has not commented on the case.
As well as Howard, CAA also represented Empire’s co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and the production company Imagine Entertainment.
Howard revealed that he was paid $325,000 per episode “at the height of what I was being paid” in the show’s sixth season, which aired in 2020.
Howard’s lawyer James Bryant argued that Howard should have been paid at a higher level for playing Lucious Lyon in Empire, in line with the fees received by Kevin Spacey in House of Cards or Jon Hamm in Mad Men. In 2014, it was reported that Spacey was paid $500,000 per episode for his role in the Netflix political drama.
Howard sued 20th Century Studios in 2020 over alleged unpaid royalty fees for the use of his name and likeness on merchandise. Howard claimed the Empire logo was based on an image of his face taken from his 2015 film Hustle & Flow.
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