Terrence Howard has launched a lawsuit against his former talent agency.
The 54-year-old star is suing CAA for breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent representation and constructive fraud.
The complaint – which has been obtained by PEOPLE – alleges that CAA failed to act in his best interest and negotiate a higher salary during his time on ‘Empire’, the TV series that ran from 2015 until 2020.
The complaint – which has been filed in Los Angeles – also alleges that CAA represented producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, and became a “packaging agent for the project”.
According to the actor, he was informed that their compensation “was being built into the project’s budget and paid separately”.
Howard was “unfamiliar with particularities involved in these types of packaging deals” and he “continued to believe that his agents were serving his best interests at all times”.
The complaint suggests that they prioritised their “own financial interests” ahead of his own.
Howard trusted CAA to “look after” him, but he now feels that they looked after themselves instead.
The Hollywood star – who played Lucious Lyon on the hit TV series – explained in his lawsuit that he “acted in the capacity of producer”.
However, he “never received the compensation as a producer or any of those things that are immediately given or asked for by agents of white actors”.
Carlos Moore, the actor’s attorney, has claimed in a press conference that his client was a victim of “racism”.
Meanwhile, in December 2022, Howard announced his retirement from acting.
The movie star revealed that his decision was actually inspired by Sidney Poitier.
He told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “I asked Sidney Poitier ten years ago does he want to do any more work, and he said, ‘Why would I spend my last ten years doing an impersonation of myself?'”
