LOS ANGELES (AP) — Terrence Howard agreed to a 2012 divorce settlement with his ex-wife because he was afraid she would leak details about his sex life, his attorney said during opening statements at a hearing on the actor's efforts to overturn the agreement.The Oscar-nominated actor and star of the hit television series "Empire" is expected to testify during the proceeding, which could take two days.Howard and his attorney contend the 2012 agreement that dictated how his ex-wife Michelle Ghent would be paid was extorted by Ghent by threatening to leak embarrassing information.Ghent's lawyers say she denied the allegations during a deposition.Ghent has accused Howard of domestic violence and is also seeking money she says is owed under the settlement.Howard's attorney Brian Kramer played audio of a 2011 telephone conversation between Howard and Ghent in which she threatened to sell information if he didn't pay her."I will (expletive) bury you deep within the ground," Ghent is heard at one point on the recording.She said she had video of Howard singing naked in the bathroom and could sell the footage for $2 million.She also told the actor that she had called the Internal Revenue Service to report improper deductions.After several minutes, Howard tells Ghent, "I'll drain everything I got to take care of it."His former business manager Charles McBride testified that he sent Ghent a $40,000 wire transfer later that day.McBride called the payment "hush money."Howard and Ghent were married in 2010 and she filed for divorce a year later.The dispute has prompted 20th Century Fox, which produces "Empire," to seek guidance on where to send Howard's "Empire" earnings.Judge Thomas Trent Lewis ruled that Ghent's testimony will be limited because she did not file certain pleadings before the hearing.The judge also said Howard could only present evidence of duress and extortion attempts that happened outside of the pair's mediation in 2012.The divorce agreement gave Ghent several bank accounts and left Howard with responsibility for several debts, including tax liens.

 

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