Terrence Howard is set on pushing forward with a legal battle regarding his Hollywood earnings.

As previously shared by AFROTECH™, the Oscar-nominated actor filed a lawsuit against the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in December 2023. Howard claims that the agency prompted him to accept talent fees that were less than what he should’ve received. For starring in the hit TV series, “Empire,” he allegedly earned 30% to 50% less than what he should have earned per episode.

“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 expressed during a press conference that year. “I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves.”

During the press conference, Howard noted that he wasn’t entirely certain that the lowball pay was due to a “racial issue.” However, now, he has come forward to not only further address the elephant in the room but also detail what he believes he’s owed.

In an interview on “Straight Talk with Daphne Phaneē,” Howard breaks down the difference in viewers and pay between “Empire” and “The Big Bang Theory,” which were both shows airing on Fox. In addition, he mentions that several actors on the latter show were represented by CAA.

“[‘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.”

Howard says that despite his show’s high viewership, he earned $325,000 per episode of “Empire” in comparison to the alleged $2 million to $3 million that his white counterparts received for a similarly valued show. He claims that his agents were “incentivized” to keep his pay low under a “packaging deal” between CAA and Fox. As a result, he says he’s owed over $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 also claims that after requesting his money, he was given a check for $666 that didn’t disclose where it came from.

“So, I was like, oh, y’all are tryna 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.”

As of this writing, Howard says that he is “waiting to go to court” for his claims against CAA.