Terrence Howard is having the kind of legal troubles that would even make his Empire character Lucious Lyon do a double take. A judge recently ruled that he must cough up over $1 million to his ex-wife.
As reported by the New York Daily News (@nydailynews,) Terrence Howard is making a lot of money as the star of the FOX hit TV series Empire—and that’s exactly the reason why he’s been instructed to pay his ex-wife Michelle Ghent $1.5 million in spousal support.
The hefty sum is a combination of $263, 137 in back spousal support and an additional $1,055,970 due to the increase in his Empire salary. When the series debuted back in 2015, Terrence was paid $120K per episode, but now he reportedly makes $250K per episode—and as a result, his ex wants her piece of the pie.
However, things don’t stop there, as Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Helen Zukin reportedly took Terrence to task for dragging out the court proceedings since 2013 and refusing to pay a previous judgement, saying:
“This has gone on long enough. The Court of Appeals determined it’s a valid judgment, and it’s time to enforce that judgment.”
Ghent also was victorious in getting Terrence to pay her legal fees, which are expected to be an additional $1 million or more. Judge Zukin made her ruling after one of Ghent’s attorney’s said time is running out to receive the funds because Empire starts its inal season next month.
“We need to have the monies held. He’s in the last year of his contract. This is the last bulk of money we can reasonably get before it disappears,” Ghent’s original divorce lawyer Karen Donahoe told the court.
Howard and Ghent were married in January 2010. She filed for divorce the following year.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
