A judge has dismissed the lawsuit Terrence Howard filed against Creative Artists Agency (CAA), alleging his former agents convinced him to accept less money for his role on Empire than “comparable white actors.”
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cherol Nellon handed down the ruling on Friday, July 31, saying Howard failed to prove he was owed millions of dollars, City News Service reported.
Attorneys for CAA had argued the agency negotiated diligently on Howard’s behalf. The agency said the actor’s claims were “meritless” and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit because Howard lacked standing and the statute of limitations had ended.
“CAA is gratified that the Court summarily dismissed Mr. Howard’s case prior to trial,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement to the media.
“This confirms CAA’s position from the beginning: that the agency advocated for its client and always acted in good faith,” the statement continued. “As the Court’s order makes clear, the uncontested evidence directly contradicted the very foundation of Mr. Howard’s complaint by proving that CAA sought to renegotiate his Empire contract with Fox in 2018, and Fox refused.”
Howard’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related: Terrence Howard Says CAA Owes Him $120 Million in ‘Empire’ Pay Dispute
In December 2023, the actor and his legal team held a news conference in Los Angeles to announce they had filed the lawsuit.
Urban Hollywood 411 was there as the actor told reporters he was earning $325,000 per episode by the time Empire ended its six-season run on Fox in 2020.
“When we began, I think I was being paid $125 [thousand] an episode,” Howard said. “At the very height, all I was able to get, in year six, was $325,000 an episode, even though I wrote 10-15 songs.”
The Oscar-nominated Hustle & Flow star said his pay was below the more than $1 million per episode earned by white actors on top-rated shows. He described himself as a “whistleblower” and insisted it was “time for change” in Hollywood.
Howard was represented by attorney James Bryant III of The Cochran Firm in Los Angeles.
At the news conference, Bryant accused CAA of self-dealing, saying the agency also represented Empire co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, as well as the show’s producers at Imagine Entertainment.
The lucrative practice of representing producers, writers or directors and talent on a single project is known in the industry as “bundling” or “packaging.”
Bryant alleged CAA convinced Howard to accept less money because the agency was looking out for others at Empire.
“CAA simply told Mr. Howard, ‘We’re not going to take your 10 percent agency fee because this time we sort of packaged things together, so that’s a good thing.’ But in reality, it was a terrible thing,” Bryant said.
The actor’s legal team described his $325,000-per-episode salary as “lowball,” saying he was paid less than actor’s on similarly-rated shows because he is Black.
Empire debuted with nearly 10 million viewers in January 2015. Weeks later, the show’s audience climbed to a record 17.6 million viewers, leading The Guardian to brand the show “TV’s biggest drama in a decade.”
But Howard’s lawyers said his pay did not match Empire’s ratings.
They specifically mentioned Jon Hamm of Mad Men, Kevin Spacey of House of Cards, and Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory, saying those actors — all of whom are white — were paid much more than Howard. A 2017 Forbes article said Parsons earned $1 million per episode for The Big Bang Theory.
When asked why he waited so long to sue CAA, Howard said it took years for him to realize his agents had allegedly placed their own financial interests before his own.
You can watch the news conference with Howard and his attorneys below:
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