Actor Terrence Howard has filed a lawsuit against Creative Artist Agency LLC, claiming that the agency that represented him misled him into taking less money for his role in the hit FOX television series “Empire.”
Howard said he was unaware of the conflicts of interest CAA had working as his agent while also representing the production company of the show, meaning the agency had a financial interest in the project as well as the actor.
Howard’s attorney, James Bryant of Cochran Law Firm, explained the merits of the lawsuit during a recent press conference.
“This is a man who was the lead actor to, once again, one of the most successful television shows in network history where Fox was making over $125 million a year in just ad revenue alone. This man was being underpaid time and time again.”
Howard’s attorneys charge that CAA convinced the performer to believe that his salary was fair for his acting work on the show.
“I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves,” Howard said during the press conference. “I can’t say that this was a racial issue, but I cannot imagine that white actors that are comparable to the numbers and accolades and the world recognition that I have. I can’t imagine that CAA would allow them to be misused and treated in the way that they allowed Fox to misuse me, or to be paid the way that I was paid.”
Howard, 54, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The Cochran Law Firm said the lawsuit does not include an amount for damages at this time and said it will be determined at a later date.
“Despite this feeling of trust, it would be years later that Howard would discover that CAA … placed their own financial interests, as well as the interests of the production companies they also represented, ahead of his own,” is what the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit states.
“Empire” had a debut pilot that reached nearly 10 million viewers, marking Fox’s highest-rated debut in three years, the suit also states.
CAA has not responded to Howard’s claims.