Terrence Howard Sues Fox Over Missing ‘Empire’ Checks

Terrence Howard’s Universal Bridges is suing 20th Century Fox Film Corporation for refusing to pay the actor money he is said to be owed for his work on the hit TV series Empire.

Universal Bridges is Howard’s loan-out company that is overseen by his current fiancé, Mira Howard. According to court documents obtained by @Blast, Universal Bridges is claiming that Fox agreed to pay Howard through the loan-out company for his role on Empire, where he portrayed Lucious Lyon; and up until recently, the studio had honored its deal.

However, things took a turn for the worse when Howard’s ex-wife, Michelle Ghent, attempted to collect on $1.3 million owed to her. 20th Century Fox filed a separate lawsuit against Howard and Universal Bridges, where it was revealed that Ghent served them with legal documents demanding they release all of Howard’s Empire checks to her.

That suit laid out how Howard and Ghent were enduring a bitter divorce battle at the time. In August, a judge ordered the actor to pay Ghent $1.3 million in back spousal support along with additional funds once his income increased. The settlement ultimately came to $263,000 to be paid for back support and another $1.05 million in funds. Now, Ghent is looking to collect on the $1.3 million. As a result, Howard filed an appeal of the divorce judgment and now believes enforcement is stayed, meaning it is put on pause until the outcome of his request, according to The Blast.⠀

Fox is asking the court to tell them who is, in fact, owed the money, as they fear that they may pay the wrong person and end up liable for damages, resulting in another lawsuit.

In the meantime, Howard is still working on the show despite his company accusing Fox of failing to pay him for the last three produced episodes, “even though it was contractually obligated to do so.”