Terrence Howard says Denzel Washington called out his aggression 20 years ago

Howard also claimed he’s been blacklisted from the industry after he attempted to sue 20th Century Fox Film and Disney.

Terrence Howard said that in a meeting that took place over 20 years ago, Denzel Washington called him out about his aggression problems.

“He told me, ‘Look at your hands, you’re always like this. Your fists are all balled up,'” Howard said on the PBD podcast hosted by businessman and conservative media personality Patrick Bet-David.

“[Denzel] said, ‘And all these producers wanna do is try to open your hand so they can put money in it. But you won’t do it, you keep your hands all tight like this. And you’re blowing it.'”

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Howard said the conversation happened while he was still on the “chitlin circuit,” before he had the support of major studios. Right after, he went on to star in the 2005 movie “Hustle & Flow,” with Taraji P. Henson, for which he received an Oscar nomination for his role as a pimp named DJay.

A few years later, he also got the opportunity to be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Iron Man” sequel in 2010 for the role of James “Rhodey” Rhodes, but ended up being replaced by Don Cheadle. Initially, the story was that Howard left over a salary dispute, but in this latest interview with Bet-David, he gave another reason.

While promoting the film “The Brave One” with producer Joel Silver at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, Howard recalled that a reporter asked him why he was not top-billed with his co-star Jodie Foster. Silver apparently heard about this, and that Howard also felt frustrated with his place in the credits, so he told the “The Best Man” actor that Foster was the star, not him.

“I was like, ‘Thank you for telling me that, now I understand,” Howard said, recounting the situation. “But, you have to remember that I’m a man just like you, and if you ever talk to me in that way again, I’m going to knock your teeth out of your mouth.”

Reflecting on his experiences in Hollywood, Howard said on the podcast, “I’ve had a number of opportunities, but my aggression, my need to be a man, you know, ‘You ain’t gon’ talk to me like that,’ instead of learning how to diffuse.”

Howard also claimed that after the success of “Empire,” which ran from 2015-2020, he’s been blacklisted from the industry because he tried to sue 20th Century Fox Film and its parent company, Disney. In 2020, he asserted that 20th Century Fox Film owed him compensation for the use of his name and image in merchandise. He also sued his former talent agency, CAA, over his “Empire” wages in 2023, claiming they had asked him to accept a lower salary for the show than he deserved.

“You’re no longer on their main list of calling because you’ve broken the cardinal rule, which is you never talk,” Howard said. “Even if you’re being screwed over, you never talk. You’re supposed to keep that quiet and keep working as a good slave, and I didn’t do that. I fought about some injustices that I felt was happening with me.”