"Empire" actor Terrence Howard and ex-wife Michelle Ghent's divorce war is getting nastier, with the actor now reportedly preparing to cut off his spousal support to Ghent after she allegedly blackmailed him with photos and videos likely to damage his career.
According to sources familiar with Howard and Ghent's case, the 43-year-old actor is planning to make a formal legal claim this month. Howard allegedly gave his ex-wife an incredibly rich spousal support deal as she was blackmailing him with various videos and pictures he feared would ruin his career, reported TMZ.
One picture shows the "Empire" star in the shower, but there are many others, the publication said.
The actor and his lawyer Brian Kramer claim Ghent was supposed to get only a half-year's worth of spousal support considering the marriage lasted one year. Given the standard of limiting spousal support to half the time of the marriage, the fact that Ghent got five years worth of support is evidence of blackmail, they said.
In a recent report, Ghent is allegedly demanding a considerable portion of Howard's "Empire" wages, as per their agreement that states she gets 21% of anything he makes over $62,500 every yearly quarter. Because of the huge success of "Empire" the actor is now earning $125,000 for every episode, and his ex-wife wants what she is entitled to.
Howard has filmed three episodes of Fox's hit TV series last year, which means Ghent should be getting a check for around $66k already, and that is for his "Empire" work alone.
The Golden Globe nominee actor will also star in another TV show, "Wayward Pines," which will debut this May on Fox. This means Howard will owe his second ex-wife the same proportion of any amount he makes on his new show, according to Daily Mail.
The "Hustle & Flow" actor married Ghent in 2010 and was married to her for three years, though she filed for divorce in 2011. They did not have any kids. Howard had previously claimed he could not pay the $500k he owes her as his first wife Lori McCommas gets the majority of his earnings.
Howard is now living with his third wife Miranda Park, with whom he is expecting his fourth child. He also has three children with his first wife Lori.
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