50 Cent has come to Terrence Howard‘s defense in the actor’s legal battle against his own talent agency regarding his salary from Empire.
Several weeks ago, Howard sued CAA (Creative Arts Agency), claiming they prioritized the interests of themselves, the Fox network and the show’s producers above his own.
The actor and his attorney blamed the issue on a practice known as “packaging” where an agency gets paid by the studio for attaching talent to a project.
At a press conference, Howard’s lawyer James Bryant said: “Over the last several years, agencies have become much more powerful and found a much more lucrative way of making money. It’s by being the packaging agent, where you represent actors, producers, production companies and your own financial interest.”
He continued: “That’s where that fiduciary duty begins to break down. That’s why we’re here today.”
50 Cent, who last year signed a production deal with Fox, commented on the lawsuit on social media on Thursday (January 4), offering to use his influence in the industry to help Howard.
“Damn @theterrencehoward call my phone I will get you the money they was supposed to get for you,” he wrote on Instagram. “Im not playing no games over here.”
The two worked together in 2005 on 50’s acting debut, the semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin’, named after the rapper’s blockbuster debut album.
Terrence Howard has claimed he was being paid $325,000 per episode at Empire’s peak, but said “racism” was the reason he was being paid less than other leading men such as Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey, who each bagged around $500,000 an episode for their shows Mad Men and House of Cards respectively.
Howard is also not the first Empire star that 50 Cent has made overtures to in recent weeks.
After Taraji P. Henson made it known that she fired her entire team for failing to capitalize on the success of the show, 50 wrote on Instagram that he wanted to work with the Oscar nominee.
“They dropped the ball fvck em @tarajiphenson I’m ready to work let’s get it ! GLG GreenLightGang G-unit Film&Tv,” he said.
Henson also recently bemoaned her earnings as a Black female actor, saying: “I’m just tired of working so hard being gracious at what I do and getting paid a fraction of the cost. I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over.
“I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing. When you start working you have a team and big bills come with what you do.”
She continued: “When you hear someone saying ‘Such and such made $10 million’ — that didn’t make it to their account. Know that off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50 percent. Do the math now we have $5 million.
“Your team is getting 30 percent off of what you gross not what Uncle Sam took. Now, do the math. It seems whenever I break a glass ceiling and it’s time to renegotiate I’m at the bottom again.”