In a recent appearance on the podcast Straight Talk with Daphne Phaneč, Terrence Howard wore a peculiar wig to address his case against CAA.
The actor is suing because he was underpaid for all six seasons of “Empire.”
He was the lead actor in one of the most popular network TV programs in history, earning Fox over $125 million in ad revenue. This individual was underpaid repeatedly, said Howard's attorney, James Bryant of the Cochran Law Firm.
We previously reported that Howard's attorneys believe CAA convinced him his show acting wage was appropriate. Howard claims his “white counterparts” at the network earned more. He sued the government for compensation in December.
Howard discussed the case on the Straight Talk podcast in costume for the upcoming limited series “Fight Night.”
“I had an issue at Fox and Disney because the image of us on Empire, profile, came from a still shot from Hustle & Flow,” Howard stated in an interview with Complex. They inverted that and placed it on everything. My trademark was taken and sold globally without my authorization.That photograph is worth $100 million based on how much they profited from it.”
Howard feels he deserves as much per “Empire” episode as “The Big Bang Theory” cast.
I was represented by CAA. Big Bang Theory characters were also portrayed. They also made the Fox deal, he said. Fox had my program and Big Bang's crew. We had 28m views. Their audience was 11 million. They made $2–3 million per episode. Those white youngsters have no Oscar nominations or fame.”
Howard mentioned earning $325,000 every “Empire” episode.
“I check in with my agents annually... I was unaware of the package agreement, as my representatives were motivated to lower my income. They owe me nearly $120 million based on white colleagues' pay.
A $666 payment from CAA purportedly followed.
I thought, ‘Oh, y’all trying to intimidate me.’ This is dangerous, he said. “You think I’m scared? You think I'll keep quiet? Because I wonder what you're doing to other Black artists.”