I think the overwhelming majority of women collectively starting hating Terrence Howard after he gave his infamous “baby wipes” interview. The interview was from 2007, and it haunts him to this day. People STILL bring it up. In between uttering such lines as “I like women who look like me. Generally, you’re attracted to women who look like you, because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection,” Terrence went on to describe his “dealbreaker” for ladies as “Toilet paper – and no baby wipes – in the bathroom. If they’re using dry paper, they aren’t washing all of themselves. It’s just unclean. So if I go in a woman’s house and see the toilet paper there, I’ll explain this. And if she doesn’t make the adjustment to baby wipes, I’ll know she’s not completely clean.”

Which is a lengthy way of saying that I have no problems believing any bad story about Terrence Howard. In February, his second wife, Michelle, filed for divorce, and she recently filed for a restraining order against Howard. TMZ got their hands on her filing, in which she claims that Howard was repeatedly physically abusive towards her:

Terrence Howard’s estranged wife got a restraining order against the actor this morning — claiming Howard constantly beats her and threatens to kill her … but Terrence says it’s all a big, fat lie.

Michelle Howard filed court documents, obtained by TMZ, claiming Terrence began beating her up just 7 days after they were married in January 2010. In the docs, Michelle claims Howard “slugged me across my face and neck” … and threatened to throw her off a balcony.

Michelle claims the violence continued throughout their marriage — with Terrence allegedly committing several violent acts, such as:

– smacking her in the face and chipping her tooth with his wedding ring
– throwing her down to the ground in a parking lot
– telling her, “I’ll hit a woman quicker than I’d hit a man”
– Saying, “If you tell anyone about my personal business, I will kill you and no one will ever know”
– Screaming, “Bitch, walk home. That’s my car, I pay for it.”

Howard also filed legal papers, adamantly denying that he EVER threatened Michelle — but claiming she has been threatening to “release private materials to 3rd parties for her own personal financial gain” unless he paid her money. Sources connected to the case tell TMZ … the material in question includes a video of Howard singing naked in the shower.

This morning, an L.A. County Superior Court judge granted Michelle a temporary restraining order preventing Howard from going near her or contacting her until their next court hearing.

Michelle filed for divorce back in February.

[From TMZ]

All of the descriptions of abuse are terrible except for “Bitch, walk home. That’s my car, I pay for it.” I would be terribly offended if a dude said that to me, but I’d be lying if I said that I couldn’t imagine EVER saying that in my own life. But as for the claims of physical abuse… God knows. I would imagine a lady would have to put up with a lot of baby wiping heartbreak just to marry Terrence, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if a crazy dude like Howard only attracted equally crazy women. I’m going to go with Michelle’s side of the story, though. Because, as I said, I’ll believe anything about Terrence Howard.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

A convicted Hollywood madam, Michelle Braun, is claiming that many of her high paid escorts were well known Playboy centerfolds, and that she serviced celebrities, kings, and professional athletes. Braun isn’t naming names yet, but she’s set to publish a tell-all book and there are more than a few former clients and employees running scared. What’s more is that Braun says that many of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends were paid prostitutes through her agency. She worked up until her federal bust in 2007, and this new story in the NY Post claims that she was working for 11 years. That means that we’re not necessarily talking about “The Girls Next Door,” as Braun started booking escorts in 1996. Not that Bridget, Kendra and Holly didn’t have ulterior motives for bedding an octogenarian.

Hollywood madam Michelle Braun is out to destroy the myth about Playboy Playmates which Hugh Hefner and his staff cultivated for decades — that the pin-ups are wholesome girls-next-door who just happen to have incredible figures they don’t mind showing off.

Braun — sentenced last week to three years’ probation and six months of house detention — is planning to write a tell-all about her 11-year career hooking up centerfolds and porn stars with the men who could afford the $10,000 minimum for a date.

Her clients included the kings of two countries, Fortune 500 CEOs and professional athletes, two of whom — a baseball star and a race car driver — ended up marrying the Playboy Playmates they met through Braun’s agency, Nici’s Girls.

Braun, who now lives in Florida with her two daughters, won’t name names yet. Of one very single TV personality, she said, “If I dropped his name to Page Six, I certainly wouldn’t be his idol.

“I only worked with famous girls, mostly Playmates. Hef couldn’t keep any of his girlfriends in the [Playboy] Mansion,” she said. “At one time, seven of the eight girls living in the Mansion were working for me. I had one of his girlfriends in the Mansion just to recruit for me.”

Playboy finally sued Braun for copyright infringement after she sent an e-mail to a prospective client with photos of one of her girls from the mag. She ended up settling the suit.

Braun also settled with the feds. After being investigated for years and raided by the FBI, she copped a plea to two felonies — money laundering and transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. “The girls and the clients were being harassed. I took the bullet for everyone,” she said. “In a way, I’m like Jesus, only prettier.” She laughed, “That’s a joke.”

[From The NY Post]

Poor Hugh Hefner. He can’t even find his own women who want to live rent free with an allowance and all meals catered. He has to rely on a go-between.

I don’t really care which sports stars married former Playmates who were also prostitutes, but just for fun I googled “Baseball player former Playmate,” and “Race car driver former Playmate.” The only match I found in my five minutes of research was Mike Piazza and Alicia Rickter, who married in 2005. (Here’s a list of racecar driver’s wives and girlfriends, but I couldn’t find any that stand out. There are plenty of models in the mix.)

Of course Braun is talking about Simon Cowell, when she says “If I dropped his name to Page Six, I certainly wouldn’t be his idol.” It’s not like she means Ryan Seacrest. I have a feeling that neither one of those guys would sweat it if the news came out that they’d hired prostitutes.

Braun has been photographed with Paris Hilton, Mickey Rourke, and Terrence Howard. We can’t assume that any of those people were clients or otherwise benefited from her services, but would it be so much of a stretch?

Photo credit: The Juice Blog

There is an old Hollywood saying that goes, “Never talk about the size of the salary or the size of the d*ck.” I’m paraphrasing – there are a lot of different ways it goes, and sometimes the “golden rule” changes. I’ve heard that many stars believe the golden rule is “Never talk about what you passed on, or why you were passed over.” One rule that I hope catches on is “Thou shall not criticize your own films, ’tis bad form.”

Anyway, Terrence Howard sort of broke one of the variations on the golden rule. He’s publicly criticizing the producers of Iron Man for recasting the part he originated, Col. Jim Rhodes. At the time of the casting shake-up, there was a rumor Terrence was jettisoned because of salary and attitude disputes – according to some reports, Terrence got a huge paycheck from the first film (more than Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, and perhaps on par with what Robert Downey Jr. got), and was demanding an increase for the sequel.

Terrence is trying to clear the air (re: save face). He tells Parade Magazine (story via OK! Magazine) that the producers made a “very, very bad choice” and they didn’t honor his contract. He also claims producers short-changed everyone except for Robert Downey, Jr.

After the runaway success of last summer’s Iron Man, it came as a big surprise to many that one of the film’s big stars, Terrence Howard, had been replaced for the currently filming sequel by Don Cheadle. Now, the Hustle & Flow star is speaking out about the situation — and he’s not happy.

In a new interview on Parade.com, Terrence says that the producers of the film, “made a choice, and it was a very, very bad choice. They didn’t keep their word. They didn’t honor my contract. They produced a great bounty with the first one but they put it all in the storehouse and you were not allowed in.”

And, at least according to Terrence, he wasn’t the only one getting short-changed by the filmmakers. “They did the same thing with Gwyneth Paltrow, from what I’ve been told,” he claims. “They did it with almost everyone except Robert Downey.”

All bad feelings aside, Terrence says he doesn’t plan on letting his sour grapes get the best of him. “I believe in karma. When someone does something wrong, you don’t have to get them back,” he explains. “Everything right will return the favor for you.”

From OK! Magazine

I go back and forth on Terrence Howard – I think he’s a really talented actor, but he seems like he may be a jerk in real life. I think parts of his story are probably correct, and parts of the “official” version are probably right too. My guess is that the producers probably were underpaying Gwyneth and Terrence’s salaries, but their biggest problem with Terrence is that he had “attitude problems” – meaning he didn’t just shut his mouth and take whatever salary was offered. And enough with the karma talk!

Images are stills from Iron Man, thanks to Allmoviephoto

Terrence Howard gave a statement last week supporting Chris brown, before quickly retracting it and claiming that he was unaware of the details of the situation. Terrence faced legal action in October 2008 for assaulting Tex Allen, and it has just come out that he was arrested for assaulting his estranged wife in 2001. Howard broke a door down and punched his wife in the face twice, and according to police records he even admitted it when the cops came. The Smoking Gun has uncovered the records of the incident:

The actor, who co-starred in “Iron Man” and was nominated in 2006 for an Academy Award for his role in “Hustle & Flow,” was arrested by Pennsylvania cops in September 2001 for assaulting his estranged wife. According to a Whitemarsh Police Department report, after Howard and Lori McCommas argued on the phone, the actor warned, “Don’t disrespect me by hanging up on me or I’ll come over and hurt you.” McCommas then “hung up and contacted 911 fearing Howard was serious.” While McCommas was speaking with a police dispatcher, Howard “showed up at the victim’s residence and began breaking the door down.” McCommas ran to the rear of the house and into the backyard. Howard then “broke the front door down and ran through the screen door in the kitchen. Howard then grabbed the victim’s left arm and punched her twice with a closed fist in the left side of the face.” The attack was broken up by Howard’s brother, who responded to McCommas’s house after he “saw Howard storm out of their house to go to the victim’s house.” When a Whitemarsh cop responded to the scene, Howard admitted, “I broke the door down and hit my wife.” A second officer noted there was “fresh damage to the front door and marks on the victim’s face and arm from being struck.” Police evidence photos show the damage Howard did to the doors in McCommas’s residence. After being charged with a variety of crimes (simple assault, terroristic threats, harassment and stalking), Howard subsequently pleaded guilty in 2002 to disorderly conduct.

Terrence originally said about Chris Brown and Rihanna that “It’s just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He’ll be all right. And Rihanna knows he loves her. She’ll be all right. Just everybody’s got to get out of their way.” He later retracted the statement, saying he had no idea what the incident was when he was initially asked to comment. I believed it when Terrence claimed that he had been unaware of the fight, but given his personal history maybe it would have been better to decline to comment.

Rihanna has yet to make an official statement, and Chris Brown’s statement/apology was vague. The only part of the story we know for sure is that there was a fight and Rihanna was injured, but the extent of the injuries, the cause of the fight and if it was the first time they fought is in question.

Terrence Howard is shown at the Golden Globes on 1/11/09 and at the Gotham Awards on 12/2/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Terrence Howard and T.I. came out separately in support of Chris Brown in the wake of reports that he beat his girlfriend, singer Rihanna, to the point of leaving her unconscious with a split lip and black eye. Both are now saying that they made those statements before they knew the supposed facts of the case and are retracting comments favorable to Brown, which may haven been interpreted as being dismissive of how serious the allegations are:

When asked by paparazzi last night if he had any comment on the Chris Brown incident with Rihanna, the actor said, “It’s just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He’ll be all right. And Rihanna knows he loves her. She’ll be all right. Just everybody’s got to get out of their way.”

But now, Howard is insisting he didn’t know about the allegations made against Brown when he made his remarks.

“When they asked me about Chris Brown the other day, I was in no way aware of what he had been accused of,” Howard said in a statement. “Had I known, I would have never had said something so insensitive.”
Howard is the second high-profile celeb in as many days to retract remarks they made about Brown and Rihanna.

Rapper T.I. issued a statement yesterday regretting comments he made the night before on Last Call With Carson Daly. T.I. said he “made a mistake of commenting before understanding the situation.”
T.I. told Daly that he had spoken to Brown since the alleged incident occurred early Sunday morning. “I told him, ‘This too shall pass.’ We’re celebrities, we’re entertainers, but we’re still human—all of us,” he said. “Don’t expect us not to make mistakes because we will.”

[From E! Online]

I believe them. Not everyone follows celebrity gossip as closely as we do, and they may have only heard brief reports and assumed that something else happened before more details came out. T.I. knows Brown and probably doesn’t consider him capable of something as barbaric as strangling and biting someone.

It’s possible these advance details we’ve been hearing, supposedly leaked from inside the LAPD, are incorrect and that the situation is different than we’ve been told. It’s best for celebrities to err on the safe side, though, and not to say they’re supportive of someone who was supposedly capable of doing that. It makes your heart sink to even think about that situation and you hope Rihanna is ok. If Chris did that to her, he needs to be prosecuted. A British source is reporting that Rihanna needs plastic surgery. I’ve seen that same paper routinely make up and embellish stories and am hoping that one is complete BS.

Tex Allen, brother of choreographer Debbie Allen and actress Phylicia Rashad, is suing Terrence Howard for $5 million, claiming Howard assaulted him last winter. Allen and Howard were working together on the Broadway production of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof in January when Allen says Howard approached him at rehearsals and gave him a fat lip.

The suit alleges that Howard confronted Allen while he sat at the piano at around 2:30 p.m. during a Jan. 24 rehearsal at the Walter Kerr Theatre and punched him repeatedly in the face and head.

The suit does not divulge the reason for the fight.

Howard and Allen refused comment on the fight.

[From NY Post]

Tex Allen is a musician and is claiming that the injuries he sustained in the alledged assault have rendered him unable to play the trumpet. It’s a bit of a stretch, his main musical contribution is jazz piano and a fat lip doesn’t much affect that. It’s hard not to see something like this and not think someone is just trying to make a quick, easy buck off a celebrity. But at the same time, if you have that much to lose, you probably shouldn’t go around punching people.

Terrence Howard has had a pretty crappy couple weeks. First he loses his job in Iron Man 2, and worse still, finds out by reading it in the paper, now he gets hit with a $5 million lawsuit. One might think he’s angered the gods.

Terrence Howard is shown performing at The James Hotel in Chicago on 9/20/08. Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos

As we reported last week, Terrence Howard is reportedly being replaced as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2 by Don Cheadle. The Hollywood Reporter inferred that Howard was asking for more money to come back to the role and instead of meeting his demands, he was simply replaced. The awkward part? The news apparently came to Howard the same way it came to the rest of us.

“It was the surprise of a lifetime,” Terrence tells NPR, sounding none too pleased. “There was no explanation. [The contract] just…up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”

[From OK! Magazine]

At first glance, one might think that was bad form on the part of Marvel Studios. There are some things you really should discuss personally with people, and axing them from a plum role in a blockbuster movie is probably one of them. But Marvel Studios President of Production, Kevin Fleige, says not so fast.

“As is the policy with most people, when you talk about dotting I’s and crossing T’s, certainly that isn’t the case yet on a number of things we’re doing,” he says. “But that [Hollywood Reporter story] was not an announcement. That was, as it tends to happen in the business, is rumors and leaks and things like that. I do think there will be clarity soon.”

[From OK! Magazine]

In other words, someone at Marvel Studios told The Hollywood Reporter before they told Terrance Howard. Either way, it lacked professionalism and Howard has the right to be a little pissed off. No one enjoys it when the rest of the office sees their getting a pink slip before they even know they’re getting fired, in this case the office is the whole movie-going public and the pink slip is an article in an industry publication.

Terrence Howard is shown performing in NY on 8/21/08. Don Cheadle is shown outside The Late Show on 8/26/08. Credit: Bauergriffinonline.com. Cheadle is also shown golfing at “Kiki’s 1st Annual Celebrity Golf Challenge Presented by ALIZE” in Tarzana, CA on 10/13/08.

Iron Man was a bona-fide summer blockbuster and Terrance Howard, who was star Robert Downey Jr’s best friend in the film, was all but guaranteed a sequel in the story line, to come back as War Machine. The only way to foul that opportunity up is to take it for granted that you can’t be replaced, and Howard appears to have overestimated his irreplaceability.

In moviemaker Jon Favreau’s sequel, Iron Man 2, Terrance Howard’s character, Jim Rhodes, has been given to Don Cheadle.

Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons. Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor, who is shooting Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest” with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.

Rhodes is expected to play a larger part in the sequel, which is rumored to go beyond high-tech villains. Justin Theroux is writing the screenplay.

Jon Favreau is returning as director, and Robert Downey Jr. is expected back as billionaire industrialist Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow also is expected to be back as Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I may be in the minority, but I think Terrance Howard is overhyped, and worse still, seems to totally buy into his own hype. There are some Hollywood types who take what they do entirely too seriously, like acting is on par with neurosurgery, and it comes across in interviews. Howard comes off as one of those to me. I can’t say I’m particularly shocked that he saw himself as invaluable and in turn demanded more money.

Don Cheadle, on the other hand, does more than play pretend in front of the camera, and even that he does with conviction. The first time I saw Don Cheadle was on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” in a guest role. Even that performance made such an impression on my teenage brain that when I saw him in a movie I recognized him instantly. He’s one of those guys who isn’t drop dead gorgeous, but his intensity is sexy. Don Cheadle only pumps up the star power of Iron Man 2.

Don Cheadle is shown on 2/28/08 at a Poker party at PURE. Credit: PRN/PRPhotos. Terrence Howard is shown performing in Chicago on 9/20/08. Credit: Adam Bielawski/PR Photos. Photo below is a still from Iron Man thanks to Allmoviephoto

Oscar nominee Terrence Howard claims that Bill Cosby once blacklisted him. As a brash 19-year-old, Howard had a confrontation with the legendary Cosby, and says he didn’t work for four years after that. Terrence went on to star in Hustle & Flow, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

Oscar-nominee Terrence Howard almost destroyed his promising acting career when he was axed from The Cosby Show. The Crash star landed his first acting part in the legendary comedy show in 1988 – but he was sacked before any of his scenes were aired.

He explains, “I was 19 and had just moved to New York from Cleveland, I got on The Cosby Show on my second audition ever.” Howard was so angry that his scenes were cut, he confronted the show’s star and producer Bill Cosby – who he claims subsequently blacklisted him in the entertainment business.

He explains, “I told him, ‘I’m a man just like you.’ He didn’t like it, and the casting agent never took my calls again.” Howard didn’t work for four years, but recovered to forge a successful acting career – landing an Academy Award in 2006 for his role in Hustle + Flow.

[From Contact Music]

Obviously it didn’t hurt Howard in the long run, since his film career is doing pretty well these days. The story doesn’t seem that surprising or outlandish to me. After Lisa Bonet – who played one of Cosby’s children on The Cosby Show – filmed a movie that almost got an X rating and then did a nude photo shoot for Rolling Stone, Cosby had her fired because he disapproved. She was given a spinoff show after she threatened legal action. But Cosby has long felt it okay to dictate right and wrong, especially to young people.

Cosby seems to take his role of the moral authority pretty seriously, so Howard’s claims sound legit. It’s pretty damn ironic, considering the claims against Cosby.

Here’s Terrence Howard at the BET Awards on June 24th. Header Los Angeles, California – 24.06.08. Header image of Bill Cosby outside the ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ in New York on January 28th. Images thanks to WENN.

I’ve always said the hallmark of a truly great friend is when they hate the people you hate. Just because you hate them. It’s touching really. Similarly, the hallmark of a truly great parent or family member is when they threaten to kill whoever dates you. Okay reading over the previous sentences, I see that I might have some issues to deal with. Nonetheless, actor Terrence Howard admits he threatened to kill his young daughter’s boyfriend. And to me, that makes him a great dad right there.

Actor Terrence Howard has proved his credentials as the ultimate over-protective father – he threatened to kill his daughter Aubrey’s teenage boyfriend. The Iron Man star didn’t appreciate his 14-year-old daughter dating a classmate he disapproves of, and “intervened” by forcing her to ditch the unfavorable suitor.

He says, “She’s supposedly in love with some guy. I made her break up with him and I’ve threatened to kill him. I was like, ‘You picked a green fruit from the tree that’s far from ripe.’”

And Howard ensures he keeps a tight-leash on his beloved kids – warning Aubrey she will be cut out of any future inheritance if she is not “obedient”. He tells his daughter, “I’ve set a lot of things aside for you, but those things are only yours as long as you’re obedient to me.” However, the actor has put a crafty plan into action to make sure the teenager doesn’t fall back into her unsuitable relationship.

He adds, “She’s OK now. Though, I’m sure he’s still kind of her boyfriend. This summer I’ll take her off to another country where her phone won’t work, and he’ll start dating someone else.”

[From Hip Hop Elements]

That’s a smart dad right there. It seems pretty rare that you hear about over-protective parents anymore. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but it makes me happy to hear that some dads are still involved in their daughters’ lives, and care enough to threaten the crap out of some boy. Isn’t that a rite of passage for everyone? I honestly believe one of the reasons my dad sucks is that he never threatened anyone on my behalf. After I broke up with a guy I’d been with for two and a half years, my mom told me my dad thought the guy had the personality of a serial killer. Where was my beat down?

I’m guessing that Aubrey Howard was/is pretty pissed at her dad. That’s another important rite of passage. But how many kids parents are in a position to take them to some far-flung locale to get them away from a guy? And then get rewarded for good behavior with all the money their dad has “set aside” for them? Bribery. Also a good parenting tactic.

Here’s Terrence Howard at the Los Angeles Premiere of ‘Iron Man’ at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on April 30th. Images thanks to WENN.