Terrence Howard Loses Lawsuit Agents Talent Agency Over Claims He Was Talked Into Lower ‘Empire’ Salary!

Terrence Howard took an L in court recently after going up against one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, accusing them of fraudulent representation!

According to NBC News, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Cherol Nellon dismissed Terrence’s case against Creative Artists Agency LLC after he alleged the firm convinced him to take less money for his role of Lucious Lyon on, ‘Empire,’.

Sources state Judge Nellon issued her decision on July 31st after hearing arguments from both sides. It has been indicated that Terrence failed to establish evidence proving that he was personally entitled to damages. According to the court, any increase in compensation would have gone to Howard’s loan-out company, Universal Bridges, rather than directly to the actor.

Terrence originally filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that CAA prioritized its own financial gain over his during salary negotiations for the hit Fox series. He claimed the agency failed to aggressively advocate for higher pay despite Empire becoming one of the network’s biggest shows.

“Fox rejected the $750,000-per-episode demand and stated it was not prepared to increase my compensation beyond $325,000 per episode,” Howard said. “Had I known before the meeting that CAA would not present or advocate its own proposed strategy directly to Fox, I would have insisted that CAA put that strategy in writing to Fox before Mira Howard (Howard’s former wife) and I met with Fox or made any direct demand.”

Terrence explained that he had, “limited and mistaken” understanding of the July proposal.

“I believed CAA’s package might cause money to be taken from my back end or result in me paying more than a standard commission,” according to Howard. “I did not understand CAA’s actual package economics, how those economics could affect CAA’s incentives, or CAA’s internal package-fee discussions concerning Empire.”

CAA denied the allegations, arguing it negotiated diligently on Howard’s behalf and that his claims lacked merit. The agency also maintained that the lawsuit was filed too late and that Howard lacked standing to pursue the claims.