Warning: some people may find the contents of this article distressing
Terrence Howard has spoken candidly about his childhood, including a deeply troubling detail about how young he says he became sexually active.
The Empire actor recently appeared in conversation with Patrick Bet-David on his PDB Podcast and reflected on what life was like for him growing up.
Howard said he was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and described spending large stretches of time without close adult supervision. He explained that after his father left jail, he worked long hours, while his mother was attending school.
Because of that, Howard said he was frequently left to his own devices as a child — something he believes contributed to him experiencing sexual trauma at an early age.
During the interview, Bet-David asked Howard when he first had a sexual encounter, prompting a stark response from the actor.
“I was four,” the former Iron Man star said. “It was the older girls who were watching me; they were like six and seven.”
He went on to claim the behavior continued for years as he got older.
“We did that every day until I was like 13,” Howard continued to share. “I had more sex then than I’ve had in my entire adult life.”
Bet-David then pressed for clarity on what Howard meant when discussing those experiences, and Howard indicated it involved intercourse.
Looking back, Howard said he regrets what happened and believes it shaped how he understood relationships and intimacy, leaving him with a distorted sense of what was normal.
Howard admitted: “I wish I had never done that. I would have been a completely different person, but it gave me a skewed view of interaction.
“I kept thinking that everybody was promiscuous like that. So, by the time I get to 16, 17, I’ve done enough to where I’m starting– now, the spiritual side of me is starting to show up, but then I slipped back into it at 25 to 30 something.”
He also suggested the issue wasn’t limited to him alone, claiming it was something other children in the neighborhood experienced as well.
Howard added that what happened has had a lasting impact, saying it made him extremely cautious when it comes to child safety — particularly with his own kids.
“I’m overly protective because I’m trying to protect me,” Howard said. “My kids are never alone. They’re never alone without at least two people watching them just because I don’t want what happened to me to ever happen to them.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.