Terrence Howard admits he hit first wife and got physical with his second

Home Top

$Herzzerrei¿endes Drama im Frankfurter Zoo: Gorilla-Dame Shira (10) kann sich nicht von ihrem toten Kind trennen. Es starb eine Woche nach der Geburt. \nDas Gorilla-Weibchen Shira bringt im Frankfurter Zoo w¿hrend der Besucherzeit im Borgori-Wald ein Baby zur Welt. \nDonnerstag um 17:20 \nBild : Gorilla-Weibchen Shira im Borgori-Wald mit Baby \n/ E.T. 11.07.2015 Bild Bund /\n$ The mother who cannot say goodbye to her dead child: Tragic gorilla cannot bear to be separated from her baby a week after it died... and still tries to wake her up
'That's my brother's head': Horrified Texas woman travels to Pakistan's K2 to bury her father and brother after seeing footage of their lost remains on climber's 'disgraceful' promotional video
'Draft Biden' committee chief blabs in phone call that 'Joe is in!' - and train's entire cafe car hears him!
What REALLY happens when you give birth? From your waters breaking to how much it hurts, experts reveal the truth...
Mother's despair after autopsy fails to reveal why teen daughter died after routine wisdom teeth extraction
Emily Blunt sparks outrage after joking that she regrets 'becoming American': Star forced to apologize over tongue-in-cheek comments on citizenship
'Drunk' Iowa sorority leader, 20, arrested 'for peeing on the floor of frozen yogurt shop'
Kate Snow named anchor of NBC's Nightly News on Sundays and gets an afternoon show on MSNBC in new lineup announced days before Brian Williams returns to the air
American Airlines resumes flights after all planes to Dallas, Chicago and Miami were grounded over 'computer problems'
Boyfriend charged with university student's murder after 'shooting her in the head and staging it to look like a suicide'
EXCLUSIVE: The woman who cheated with Real Housewives star's husband in a sordid eight-month affair - and she even befriended her to 'probe for info to break up the couple'
Woman whose violent kidnapping was initially dismissed as a 'Gone Girl'-style hoax plans to sue the police
Pope Francis, I'd like you to meet a pro-choice nun, a gay bishop and a transgender woman - the very eclectic guests at White House reception next week
The BORN identity: Russian secret agent Anna Chapman gives birth to her first child in Moscow but refuses to name the father
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali honored with a spirit award by the University of Louisville
EXCLUSIVE: From the banks of the Nile to meeting Obama at the White House - how family of Muslim boy, 14, handcuffed for his homemade clock, is living the American dream
Muslim schoolboy Ahmed Mohamed, 14, accepts Obama's invitation to the White House but is MOST excited to hear from MIT - and he still wants the clock back that led to his arrest
Federal Reserve leaves key interest rate unchanged, citing global problems and low inflation
Who is...Turd Ferguson?: Clever Jeopardy guest channels classic Saturday Night Live skit in her final answer
Woman charged with keeping disabled brother confined to a roach-infested bed soaked in urine and feces for SEVEN years
Brooklyn Nets star says $1.33 million-a-year salary is not enough to rent an apartment in New York - and he is 'forced' to live in New Jersey with two housemates
Bizarre moment 6ft 3in Jeb Bush towered over his GOP debate rivals by craftily standing on his TIPTOES for the group photo
Ivanka's Instagram fail: Trump heiress posts image of herself on a 'date night in New York' - when she was actually in California with dad Donald - so she could sell her fashion line to followers
Revealed: The 'mega-hunk' who drove Twitter users wild at the GOP debate is 24-year-old actor and director Greg Caruso who 'makes politics worth watching'

The Empire star claimed he 'slapped' not 'punched' his first wife
Said he acted in self defense when he assaulted his second wife
Daniels said the actor was being judged harshly because he is African-America

Published: 11:03 EST, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 13:30 EST, 16 September 2015

View
comments

Terrence Howard has been dogged by accusations of violence towards women and now the Empire star has acknowledged he did put his hands on two of this three wives.

The actor, 46, made the confession in a bizarre interview with Rolling Stone magazine in which he said he 'slapped' not 'punched' his first wife and was acting in self-defense when he beat on his second.

Empire co-creator Lee Daniels has defended his star calling him 'that poor boy' and telling The Hollywood Reporter that Howard 'ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some f***in' demon.'

Scroll down for video

Like Brando or Penn: Terrence Howard, pictured in Monaco in June, has admitted he laid hands on two of his three wives after years of being dogged with accusations of domestic abuse and violent outbursts

Daniels, who directed the films Precious and The Butler, claimed that Howard was being judged more harshly on the domestic abuse allegations because he is African-American.

'That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America,' Daniels said.

Howard's first wife Lori McCommas, the mother of three of his children, claimed the Hustle & Flow star 'punched her twice with a closed fist' in a 2001 incident, according to a police report.

Director Lee Daniels, co-creator of Empire, has defended his star, saying Howard has 'ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some f***in' demon.'

Victim: Howard's first wife Lori McCommas told police in 2001 the actor punched her twice 'with a closed fist.' Howard said he 'lost my mind and slapped her' in front of their kids because 'she was talking to me real strong'

The couple, who wed in 1989, divorced in 2003, remarried in 2005 and divorced again in 2007 after which it was revealed the actor had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct as a result of the 2001 altercation.

He explained in his interview with Rolling Stone that McCommas had provoked him.

'She was talking to me real strong, and I lost my mind and slapped her in front of the kids,' he said.

'Her lawyer said it was a closed fist, but even slapping her was wrong.'

Black eye: Second wife Michelle Ghent alleged Howard had struck her and tried to strangle her in 2013 while in Costa Rica. He told Rolling Stone he acted in self-defense after she Maced him and hadn't meant to hit her

His second wife Michelle Ghent won a restraining order against him after claiming he had been physically abusive towards her as well as threatening and staling her.

In 2013, after rekindling their relationship, Ghent claimed he'd struck her, giving her a black eye, and tried to strangle her while they were vacationing in Costa Rica.

'She was trying to Mace me,' he told Rolling Stone when asked about it.

'You can't see anything so all you can do is try to bat somebody away, and I think that something caught her. But I wasn't trying to hit her,' he claimed.

Just last month, a judge ruled that Howard's alimony payments to Ghent would now be reduced after it was revealed she had blackmailed the actor.

Third wife: Howard and Mira Pak, pictured in January, welcomed son Qirin in May. They still live together even though they divorced in July

Offspring: Howard shared this snap of himself with his newborn son in June. The actor described to Rolling Stone how, when he was two years old, he watched his father knife a man to death while waiting in line to see Santa Claus

A former girlfriend May Seng Yang wrote in a statement to police that Howard choked her and punched her in the eye before throwing her to the ground in 2012 after she accused him of giving her herpes.

The actor reciprocated by filing assault charges against Yang and they both eventually dropped their cases, settling the matter in civil court.

It's not just the women in his life who have been on the receiving end of his temper.

In 2005, he once again pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after knocking a man to the ground and hitting a woman after they got into an argument at a restaurant.

Howard was accused of trying to cut the line in front of the pair, sparking the confrontation.

He said he wasn't even in the line and had simply gone to ask about the wait time for a table and that he had acted in self-defense.

In 2000, a Continental Airlines flight attendant claimed the Crash star had assaulted her. The charges were eventually dropped.

But pubic opinion about his violent run-ins also, it seems, led him to accept his current critically-acclaimed role as Lucious Lyon in the Fox TV series Empire.

He told Rolling Stone simply: 'Since they see me as a bad guy, I'm gonna play a bad guy.'

Back in the game: Howard's role as Lucious Lyon on Empire has revitalized his career. He's seen in a publicity shot for the Fox TV series with co-stars Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers, Jussie Smollett and Taraji P. Henson

TERRENCE HOWARD'S ALLEGED ASSAULTS AGAINST WOMEN

August 2000 - Howard was arrested in Cleveland after being accused of assaulting a flight attendant when he was asked to return to his seat on a Continental Airlines flight. Howard claimed he was just trying to take his daughter to the bathroom while the airline employee said that passengers had been asked to stay seated with their seat belts fastened. Charges were eventually dropped by the District Attorney.

September 2001 - After getting into a telephone argument with wife Lori McCommas, Howard was accused of showing up to her home and kicking down the door before punching her twice in the face. He was only charged with disorderly conduct for the incident despite admitting to kicking down the door and hitting McCommas. Explaining his version of events, Howard said: 'She was talking to me real strong, and I lost my mind and slapped her in front of the kids.'

March 2005 - While out getting breakfast at Ray's Dining Car in the Philadelphia suburbs, Danielle DiStefano and US Marine Kevin Saffell were being seated by the hostess when they claim Howard asked why he was not being taken care of first because he was an actor. When DiStefano told Howard they had been first in line, Howard reportedly responded by saying; 'Fu*k you, I wasn’t talking to you.' Saffell asked the actor to apologize to DiStefano, which is when Howard punched Saffell in the face and DiStefano in the chest, according to court documents. Once again he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

January 2011 - February 2012: Howard's second wife Michelle Ghent was granted a restraining order against the actor in December 2012 after claiming he attacked her just a week into their marriage, punching her in the face. She also alleged he had threatened her life, come after her with a butcher knife, and tried to throw her off a hotel balcony in South Africa. Howard responded by filing his own restraining order against Ghent after suffering 'constant threats of extortion.'

May 2012: Howard's girlfriend May Seng Yang told police the star choked her and punched her in the eye before throwing her to the ground during a fight. Howard responded by filing his own suit against Yang for punching him during the fight. The matter was later settled in a private civil suit.

August 2013: Howard was accused of strangling and threatening to kill Ghent while on a trip to Costa Rica. The two had reconciled shortly before and she claimed the attack happened after she said things did not seem to be working out between them. Howard claimed he only hit her because she was trying to Mace him and he didn't mean to hurt her.