Terrence Howard says estranged wife is racist

Consider the race card played.

Two weeks after getting restrained by his estranged wife, Terrence Howard is firing back, accusing Michelle Ghent of hurling racial slurs at him at various times during their short-lived and apparently tumultuous union.

Here's what we know.

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According to court docs filed Friday and obtained by E! news, the 42-year-old thesp claimed his erstwhile missus (whom he notes is not African-American) often referred to him using the N-word and screamed other racist names at him like "monkey."

MORE: View the court documents

The former "Crash" star (who, ironically, played Nelson Mandela in the movie "Winnie" earlier this year) asserted that his 34-year-old spouse, whom he married in secret in January 2010, once yelled that she "never wanted to marry a n----- in the first place" and "didn't want to be the stepmother of some n----- kids."

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He also claimed Ghent once said had "a lot of Russian friends" who would have him "clipped" if he ever went to authorities.

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Ghent filed for divorce last February after only a year of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

But it wasn't obvious just how ugly things had gotten between the two until Ghent took out a temporary restraining order on Dec. 6, claiming Howrard had routinely abused her and threatened to kill her.

Howard, who's not allowed to go within 100 yards of Ghent until their next court hearing on Jan. 17, rebutted the charges in court papers, denying he ever laid a hand on her and contending blackmail, saying she threatened to go public with "private materials" unless he paid her money.

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The actor does have a history of violence, however. 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.

? 2011 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45763491/ns/today-entertainment/

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