Terrence Howard sued by former managers
Terrence Howard was almost fired from ‘Empire’, a new lawsuit has claimed.
The 47-year-old actor – who plays music mogul Lucious Lyon in the hit Fox series – is being sued for breach of contract by his former representatives at Authentic Talent and Literary Management, after they alleged he owes "several hundreds of thousands" in commissions from the series.
In the documents, Authentic Talent claim they "effectively saved Howard’s job on ‘Empire’ by convincing" executives at Imagine Entertainment "not to terminate Howard from the show", though they don’t state when or why his role was at risk.
Terrence hired the company in 2013, and they claim in their court papers they played an "integral part" in him landing his lucrative role in ‘Empire’ and "played a key role in the resurgence of Howard’s career."
Though the ‘Iron Man’ actor terminated his agreement with Authentic Talent via e-mail in 2014, he "expressly acknowledged his contractual obligation" to them.
This was to pay [the firm] 10 percent of all gross revenue he received from any entertainment industry employment he obtained" while managed by the company, which would include future earnings from ‘Empire’.
Terrence has a seven-season contract with ‘Empire’ and according to the lawsuit, which has been filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, he stopped making payments to Authentic Talent in March this year.
The complaint also stated: "Howard well knows, and has conceded, that his contract and long-established industry practice require him to pay Plaintiff commissions on an ongoing basis through the duration of his seven-year ‘Empire’ contract."
