Terry Crews On Terrence Howard’s Remarks About Being Underpaid In Hollywood: ‘I’ve Never Looked At Whatever Money I Got As A Horror Story…You Can’t Nod Yes & Mean No’ + Reveals He Didn’t Get Paid For ‘Training Day’ & Got $4,000 For ‘Friday After Next’

Terry Crews On Terrence Howard’s Remarks About Being Underpaid In Hollywood: ‘I’ve Never Looked At Whatever Money I Got As A Horror Story…You Can’t Nod Yes & Mean No’ + Reveals He Didn’t Get Paid For ‘Training Day’ & Got $4,000 For ‘Friday After Next’

Terry Crews is the latest actor to give his opinion on the lack of fair pay for Black entertainers in Hollywood.

During a sit-down on Shannon Sharpe’s web phenomenon ‘Club Shay Shay,’ Terry Crews spoke his peace on fellow entertainer Terrence Howard’s unfair compensation claims.

Terry Crews

If you didn’t know, Terrence Howard recently revealed that he’d only been paid $12,000 for his leading role in the 2005 film ‘Hustle & Flow,’ which also starred Taraji P. Henson.

He told broadcast journalist Alex Coleman in an interview,

“I made $12,000 for doing ‘Hustle & Flow.’ And then… on top of that, what Paramount did, instead of putting my name as ‘Terrence Howard performing the songs,’ they put, ‘Performed by [my character’s name] Djay.’ They owned Djay, so guess what? The performance royalties went to Paramount!”

Terrence Howard added:

“Terrence Howard made $12,000. That’s all I ever made from ‘Hustle & Flow.’ Everything else went right back into Paramount, so now I gotta sue Paramount or send them a letter. I gotta send them a letter to say, ‘Hey, you guys owe me about 20 years’ worth of residuals and performance royalties.’ But I didn’t know! I was just trying to pay my rent then.”

Following those comments, in December 2023, the on-screen veteran sued a talent agency for mishandling his salary during his time on the uber-successful series ‘Empire.’ Howard portrayed Lucious Lyon alongside his ‘Hustle & Flow‘ co-star, Taraji P. Henson, who played Cookie Lyon.

In his filing, he accused the company of being biased due to also representing the show’s co-creators, Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. Additionally, he alleged that he wasn’t properly paid or credited for his producing/writing efforts throughout ‘Empire’s six seasons.

Terrence Howard

When asked if he’d had any experiences similar to Howard’s, Terry Crews told Sharpe,

“First of all–and I understand what Terrence is saying but–I have never, ever, ever looked at whatever money I got as a horror story. If I did it, I loved it. See, but this is the problem…there’s a saying I have to say. You can’t nod yes and mean no.”

He expanded:

“If I nod yes, I looked at the terms. Okay, you gon’ pay me 4 grand for two days? Okay. If I said ‘okay,’ I can’t come back later and be like, ‘Ahhh! I only got four grand for that!’ Aye, man, that’s what you presented! So, there it is… To me, I’m not going back on that. And this keeps my heart always full of gratitude. Because once I start to complain about any of that, it starts to mess with my legacy.”

Further into the conversation, Terry Crews admitted that he played in the 2002 classic ‘Training Day’ for free. He then recalled his payout for ‘Friday After Next’ only being around $4,000.

The 55-year-old said,

“I didn’t get nothing for ‘Training Day!’ How ’bout that? I didn’t get zero! But it changed my life forever. You wouldn’t know who I was if it wasn’t for a no-paying job. First of all, name somebody that plays football for money when they start. You don’t get no money! You play football for free! You play basketball for free! Then you get all the way to the pros and you get the millions! Ain’t no other way, bruh. There’s nothing else. There’s no way to hop, skip, and jump this thing. See what I’m saying? But that’s the thing… people will try to vent ways to get right to the money.”

Crews continued:

“I got paid maybe four grand on ‘Friday After Next,’ but that’s why I came up to [Ice] Cube and said, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ That was the start! Now, woooo! I make money now. [laughs]”

Terry Crews responds to Terrence Howard and other actors in Hollywood complaining about pay and says “You can’t nod your head to say yes and mean no.”

Also, Terry Crews reveals he didn’t get paid for the movie ‘Training Day’ and says he only received $4,000 for ‘Friday After… pic.twitter.com/P7rOHZLtil

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) February 28, 2024

This isn’t the first time the ‘John Henry’ star has made controversial statements.  In 2020, he was seen tackling Gabrielle Union’s claims that she endured racism on ‘America’s Got Talent, which he ultimately apologized for.

In that same year, he urged the Black Lives Matter party not to become “supremacists” and promote equality for all in a series of posts on X (then Twitter).

What are your thoughts on what he said? Share your opinions below!