Summary: A judge ruled that even if Terrence Howard is a mean guy that doesn’t justify being coerced into signing a divorce settlement.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Trent Lewis found that actor Terrence Howard’s wife threatened to leak private information unless he signed the divorce settlement. Judge Lewis rejected the settlement, causing the two to go back to negotiations.
Howard is divorcing his second wife, Michelle Ghent. The four-day hearing revealed many personal details into Howard’s marriages. Howard was abusive to his first wife, cheated on Ghent during their engagement, and has already divorced his third wife.
A recording of a call Ghent made to Howard where she scolded him and threatened to expose him to the public if he didn’t pay her that day. His accountant testified that he gave $40,000 to her that day as “hush money.” Howard called the payment “blood money.”
The timing of any leaked information, such as a phone sex recordings and a video of him dancing naked in a bathroom, could have ruined his career. Howard is entering his second season on the Fox hit series “Empire” this fall.
The original settlement entitled Ghent to a portion of his earnings from the TV series. While the judge doesn’t deny that Howard is guilty of being a bully, he states “Just because you’re a bully doesn’t mean you can’t be bullied.”
Photo: thedailybeast.com