And the drama between Terrence Howard and ex-wife Michelle Ghent continues.
According to docs obtained by E! News, the 46-year-old actor’s former spouse is suing the Empire star
for assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent
infliction of emotional distress as well as defamation, claiming Howard
assaulted her during a trip to Costa Rica in 2013. The complaint
alleges that Howard committed “assault and battery” on his ex-wife on
the evening of July 29, 2013 and claims that he “followed Plaintiff into
the restroom of the rental house and punched her on the left side of
her face. “Defendant also grabbed Plaintiff by her neck and
pushed her against the bathroom wall and strangled her for several
seconds,” the complaint alleges. The filing also claims that Howard “grabbed
her neck again and pinned her against the shower glass and her head hit
the wall” before Howard’s son Billy rushed to the room and tried to
restrain him. “While Billy
tried to pry Defendant’s hands
from Plaintiff’s neck, Defendant whispered to Plaintiff, ‘Remember what I
told you in Bora Bora? That is what I’m gonna do,’ referring to a prior
instance where Defendant told Plaintiff that her body would never leave
the island,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff interpreted the reference
to mean that Defendant was going to kill her.” Later that
evening, per the complaint, Howard attempted to assault Ghent again, at
which point she pepper-sprayed him in the face. “Defendant continued
swinging his arms and caused Plaintiff to fall down. While Plaintiff was
on the ground, Defendant repeatedly mule-kicked Plaintiff in the head
and shoulders,” states the complaint. The filing also alleges that
Ghent suffered from multiple contusions and swelling as a result of the
alleged battery in addition to bruises all over her body. With regards to the defamation
filing, the docs accuse Howard of making “false accusations disseminated
to the public through the media that Plaintiff had made death threats
and other threats against Defendant and his family through various
social media accounts. These accusations are false, and none of the
social media accounts below to the Plaintiff.” Howard has yet to respond to E! News’ request for comment. This isn’t the first time that Ghent has accused Howard of being physically abusive. She previously filed a restraining order against the actor back in December 2011, claiming Howard routinely abused
her and threatened to kill her. She secured a temporary restraining
order in 2013, citing the Costa Rica incident in court docs. Howard, whose third wife Mira recently gave birth to the actor’s fourth child, does have a history of violence. He was arrested in
2001 on charges that he attacked his then-wife, Lori McCommas. He later
pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace, and the couple divorced.
