I keep hearing great things about the new Fox show, Empire. It’s Lee Daniels’ foray into TV (Daniels is the writer/creator/producer) and the show has gotten rave reviews, with some critics even saying it’s the best new show of the year. While I love any opportunity to support Empire lead Taraji P. Henson (I LOVE HER), I just can’t with the male lead, Terrence Howard. I’m sorry, you guys, but I’m pretty sure he’s a violent, misogynistic douchebag. His interviews are douchey (remember the baby wipes?) and he’s been accused of assaulting women SIX TIMES. Six different women. Six times. That we know of. It’s like the Bill Cosby thing – how many women does it take to make you believe that this guy is no good? Howard’s on his fourth wife too, which should tell you something (more than one wife/girlfriend has accused him of assault too, by the way).
At this point, I think the entertainment press is still in the process of learning from their mistakes in ignoring all of the Bill Cosby rumors. Refreshingly, this means that, while promoting Empire, Howard has been asked about his history of beating on women. He got some questions about his past assaults this weekend, during the Television Critics Association press tour for the Fox shows.
Terrence Howard addressed his history of legal issues involving allegations of assault against several women and whether Fox considered them before casting him on “Empire.”
“A lot of things that I got involved with in younger days, in the earlier days was the product of my environment,” he responded when TheWrap asked him to address the topic during Saturday’s Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena.
He continued, “[It was] the product of not knowing how to deal with frustration, the product of not knowing who Terrence Howard is. Now I’m married with a new wife, with a brand new baby. I’ve grown so much from anything that’s happened in the past.”
Howard’s record of alleged physical assaults against women dates back to 2000 when he was accused of grabbing a flight attendant’s wrist and pushing her during a flight. The latest allegation occurred in 2013 when Howard’s ex-wife alleged that he “knocked her down” and kicked her in the head. The actor went on to address whether those things were factor as he was being cast on “Empire.”
“This present moment, to have a show that’s being that’s being held as a beautiful breakthrough piece, having a wonderful opportunity to have this cast, I don’t think they took any of that stuff into consideration,” he said. “I think they looked at the talent and the power of right now and this moment and how people have grown and where they’re going to, and I embrace that, and I’m so thankful to them for doing that.”
Show co-creator Lee Daniels then interjected, “And we are, Terrence.”
Howard was also asked by a second reporter about the concern among TV critics that the entertainment business is giving a pass to men with histories of assault against women, including Bill Cosby and Woody Allen.
“The only person that can really make the judgment, the final judgment is the judge in the court or God at the end of the day,” Howard responded. “You leave it to them. So once you look at what the judges have said, there’s been no criminal charges ever filed against that person or anything like that. So you have to go by what the judge is saying. If it’s something valid, it’s something valid. If it’s not, it’s not, but you’ve got to give people a chance to grow from anything that happens… We’ve got to give people a chance to show who they are.”
Earlier in the day, Fox Television Group co-chairmen and CEO Dana Walden was asked if the company had known about Howard’s history and if that was taken into account while casting “Empire.”
“Our experience with Terrence has been excellent,” Walden responded. “We cast Terrence, because our executive producers, Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, and Brian Grazer, felt that he was the best actor for that particular role. Our experience with him at that point was being fans of the films he’s done in the past and it seemed like a little bit of a no brainer. So with Terrence, we really didn’t become aware of any of the situation you’re talking about until December. It wasn’t part of the conversation when we cast him.”
Howard talks as if all of the assault accusations are from a decade ago. It was just 2013 when his then-estranged wife accused him of punching her in the face repeatedly after she told him their marriage wasn’t working out. He was also accused of assault in 2012, 2011, 2005, 2001 and 2000. He even admitted some of the assaults when questioned by the police, and he has taken plea deals in some of these situations, and in others, the charges were dropped or “settled in civil court.” So… what do you think? Do you think Ol’ Baby Wipes is a changed man and he’s on the straight and narrow these days? Or should the producers have gone with their first instinct and hired Wesley Snipes?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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