Terrence Howard is taking a major stand against the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), alleging racism and discriminatory practices.
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Deadline reports that Howard’s lawyers are claiming racial bias as the reason for the unfair reduction of his salary for his role in ‘Empire.’
The ‘Hustle & & Flow’ star claims that the talent agency did not compensate him fairly compared to the white actors they also represented on the previous FOX musical drama, despite being the lead star.
The alleged act of inducing Howard to sign a contract lower than what he was entitled to is now considered as a conflict of interest, an act of racism, and a clear violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
The father of four further claims that CAA failed to advocate for him or take appropriate action against the biased practices and subsequently suppressed him out of a fair wage.
Howard claims that he didn’t know about the pay difference compared to other CAA clients until he began researching and found that his success on the show entitled him to a much higher income.
Terrence Howard Reveals His ‘Empire’ Salary
The star made $350,000 per episode in the last season. In a news conference held on Friday, his lawyers at Cochran Firm believed that he should have been making up to 50 percent more, especially because he was one of the lead actors.
Howard argued that ‘Empire’ was one of the most-watched shows at the peak of its success, generating just as much popularity as NBC’s ‘The Big Bang Theory.’
‘Empire’ exceeded the latter in viewership numerous times, with its lead star Jim Parsons taking “considerably more” in pay than Howard for reasons the star remains perplexed by.
“They’re huge companies to go to war against. Sooner or later, you’ve got to stand up, because they’re just squashing over the rights of the artists,” he concluded, per Complex
“We expect our representatives and our attorneys to take care of us, and therefore, we’re free to do all of the work that you guys enjoy so much,” Howard apparently explained, per the Los Angeles Times“I trusted CAA to take care of me, and they took care of themselves.”
He continued by stating that he could not imagine this happening to a white actor with the same awards and global recognition as him. His lawyer, Carlos Moore, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to be a bit more direct during the conference, adding, “Discovery will reveal that this was racism.”
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