Terrence Howard Once Claimed Bill Cosby Blackballed Him

Actor Terrence Howard’s career has flourished thanks to his lead roles in projects like Empire and the Oscar-winning film Crash.

But Howard once alleged that his successful career was temporarily put in jeopardy after an argument with Bill Cosby.

Terrence Howard once explained how Bill Cosby blackballed him from the entertainment industry

Before he ended up in lead roles in projects like The Butler and Hustle and Flow, Howard got his start on The Cosby Show. A meeting with a casting director gave Howard an opportunity to feature in Cosby’s iconic television franchise. But Howard’s enthusiasm was shortlived, and his appearance on The Cosby Show didn’t go as planned.

“I got on the show after begging the casting person to see me. We did the episode, I told all my friends it was coming on, and then they cut me out at the last minute,” Howard once said according to Newsone. “I was furious.”

According to Hip Hop DX, Howard decided to take matters into his own hands by confronting Cosby about his cut scenes personally. Howard claimed this would have detrimental affects on his career.

“I told him, ‘I’m a man just like you.’ He didn’t like it, and the casting agent never took my calls again,” he said.

Bill Cosby denied blackballing Terrence Howard

Cosby was more than upset with Howard’s comments, and claimed he made no attempts to impede the actor’s career.

“I don’t like something being out there that I know for sure isn’t true. There’s no person that I know of that I’ve ever felt strongly enough to call and say, ‘If this guy calls, don’t book him again,’” Cosby said. “Somewhere, there’s something missing. And that is somebody saying either I never said those things, or, I’m sorry. And it’s taking too long.”

Cosby didn’t want rumors getting out that he blackballed others in the film industry due to his reputation. So much so that Cosby claimed he confronted the Iron Man star personally about his claims.

“The young man said to me on the phone, ‘Mr. Cosby, [in] the conversation we had, you gave me information that was valuable,’” Cosby recalled. “I said ‘Well yeah, Terrence, but look, this is out there. And then you say, ‘You’re a man just like I am,’ and he didn’t [have anything to] say about that. And I said, ‘They’re making it sound like I blackballed you.’ And I said, ‘Terrence, there’s no way that you can prove that.’”

Howard didn’t deny saying what he did to Cosby. But Howard shared the words of wisdom Cosby imparted to Howard himself at the time.

“What he said was, ‘Mr. Cosby, the information you gave me was sort of like priceless, and it was a lesson in the business. You said son, things like this will happen,'” Cosby remembered Howard telling him. “And I do know he said, with people on the phone, he said that I told him to keep trying, keep plugging. That’s what he said.”

Terrence Howard felt ‘Empire’ touched more lives than ‘The Cosby Show’

The Cosby Show is seen by many as one of television’s most influential programs. The sitcom famously revolved around an upper middle-class African-American family, garnering record-breaking ratings for much of its eight-season run.

Howard’s Empire, however, couldn’t have been anymore different. The hit television series lasted for six seasons and starred Howard as the CEO of a fictional record label. Much of the drama focused on his family, as Howard’s Empire character debated which of his children should inherit his company.

Howard once made the argument that Empire might have been even more influential than The Cosby Show.

“Back in 1998, I had the opportunity to go be on The Cosby Show and I remember walking around the [set] and watching Bill Cosby. He had the number one, the number two show because Roseanne had just taken over at the time, but watching them and thinking man, I would love to be a part of something like this, and something that touches so many people,” Howard once said according to the Associated Press.

Howard felt he was able to duplicate that success with Empire, but on a global scale.

“A year ago, I’m walking around on our set and I realize that this show is touching more people than The Cosby Show ever did because this show is India, this show is in Pakistan, this show is in all parts of Arabia and all throughout South America and like, wow! We did it,” he said.