Terrence Howard reignited the salary disparity debate in Hollywood after he decided to push forward with a legal battle regarding his Hollywood earnings against the Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
The actor said the agency prompted him to accept talent fees that were less than what he should’ve received. According to a report by Afrotech, he earned 30% to 50% less than what he should have earned per episode in the hit TV series, “Empire.”
“We expect our agents and our lawyers to look after us, and therefore we’re free to do all of the work that you guys enjoy so much,” Howard noted last year at a press conference, according to Afrotech. “I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves.”
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He further said at the time that he wasn’t sure if the pay disparity was due to a “racial issue”.
Fast forward to 2024, the actor has stated what he believes he is owed. In an interview on “Straight Talk with Daphne Phaneē,” Howard highlighted the difference in viewers and pay between “Empire” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Both shows aired on Fox, with the latter having many actors represented by the CAA. Howard said Empire had more viewers than The Big Bang Theory. However, the latter earned more money than the former.
“‘Empire had 28 million viewers,” Howard told host Daphne “Phaneē” Wynn. “[‘The Big Bang Theory’] had 11 million viewers. They were getting $2 million — damn near $3 million — an episode, those white kids. They had no name recognition, no Oscar nominations, none of that.”
He claimed that he made $325,000 per episode of “Empire,” whereas his white coworkers allegedly made $2 million to $3 million for a similar show.
He believes that a “packaging deal” between CAA and Fox “incentivized” his representatives to keep his pay low. As a result, he claimed he is entitled to more than $120 million, “based on what would’ve been paid to white counterparts.”
He added, “They were getting $750,000 for a 30-second spot for advertisement… and they were getting that every week from us, but they were incentivized, and that’s why packaging deals were illegal.”
Howard said he was given a check for $666 with its origin unknown after requesting his money.
“So, I was like, oh, y’all are trying to threaten me,” he said. “This is a threat right here, and y’all think I’m scared? You think I’m going to be quiet about this? Because I wonder what you’re doing to every other black artist.”
