Terrence Howard Sues CAA for Fraud Over 'Empire' Role

*Terrence Howard is not at all happy with Creative Artists Agency LLC. So much so that he filed a lawsuit against the agency saying it fraudulently convinced him to take less money for his role on the hit FOX television show “Empire.”

At a press conference on Friday to announce the suit, Howard admitted he knew CAA was packaging the project and receiving a fee. However, he didn’t know about the conflicts of interest CAA was faced with by not only having their financial interests incorporated into the project but also representing the actors and the production companies.

Here’s what attorney James Bryant with the Cochran Law Firm said about the lawsuit.

“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.”

Terrence Howard - Gettyimages — Terrence Howard – Gettyimages

Howard’s attorneys claim 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,” said the actor. “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, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Eyewitness News reached out to CAA for a statement but has not heard back. 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.