Terrence Howard is being sued by ex-wife for assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress as well as defamation, claiming Howard assaulted her during a trip to Costa Rica in 2013.
The Empire actor Terrence Howard is being sued by his ex-spouse, Michelle Ghent, for defamation, emotional distress, and assault. This claim goes back to a trip in Costa Rica in 2013 after the ex-couple's nasty divorce.
Ghent claims Howard beat her within an inch of her life. She claims that she and Terrence were at a rental house in Costa Rica in 2013 when they began arguing and he grabbed her by the neck, pushed her against the bathroom wall and began strangling her. She says he threatened to kill her and then mule kicked her.
In the court documents obtained by E! News, the complaint alleges that Howard committed assault and battery on his ex-wife on the evening of July 29, 2013 and claims that:
"Defendant followed Plaintiff into the restroom of the rental house and punched her on the left side of her face. Defendant also grabbed Plaintiff by her neck and pushed her against the bathroom wall and strangled her for several seconds."
The filing also claims that Howard grabbed her neck again and pinned her against the shower glass and her head hit the wall before Howard's son Billy rushed to the room and tried to restrain him. While Billy tried to pry Howard's hands from Ghent's neck, he whispered to her: "Remember what I told you in Bora Bora? That is what I'm gonna do."
It was referring to a prior instance where Howard told Ghent that her body would never leave the island. That was interpreted that Howard was going to kill her.
With regards to the defamation filing, the documents accuse Howard of making false accusations disseminated to the public through the media that Ghent had made death threats and other threats against Howard and his family through various social media accounts. Which according to Ghent are false, and none of the social media accounts belong to her.
This isn't the first time Howard has been accused of domestic abuse. In 2001, he was arrested on charges of attacking his estranged wife Lori McCommas. Howard pleaded guilty for disturbing the peace and he and McCommas eventually divorced.
Ghent filed the lawsuit one day before the statute of limitations ran. Howard has yet to comment on the allegations or the lawsuit
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