'Robert Downey Jr took all the money that was meant for me and pushed me out of Iron Man 2': Terrence Howard's bombshell claims against superhero star

There's no love lost in Hollywood, especially when it comes to blockbuster salaries.
Terrence Howard was supposed to be promoting his new film, The Best Man Holiday, on Thursday, but instead he dropped a bombshell about former costar and ex-friend Robert Downey Jr., blaming the action hero for forcing him out of the Iron Man franchise.
Sitting alongside current costar Nia Long, the 44-year-old Crash star - who reportedly earned $4.5 million for the first film and was supposed to make $8 million for the second - claims that Downey 'took the money that was meant to go to me and and pushed me out.'

Shocking accusation: Terrence Howard claimed on Thursday that Robert Downey Jr. pushed him out of Iron Man 2

The damning accusation came during an interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, when a viewer asked: 'Why didn't you come back to Iron Man? I liked
you so much in a uniform.'
Grimacing before he replied, Howard said, 'Would you like to really know? It turns out in order for - this is going to get me in a lot of trouble - it turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man... when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.'
Howard was not so subtly referring to the Sherlock Holmes star's massive paycheck for the super hero trilogy, which grossed over $585 million worldwide for the first installment - and won Robert a $50 million paycheck for the third film.

Hedging their bets: Howard (here in a scene from the 2008 Iron Man) claims that he was cut from the franchise so that Downey could be paid big bucks

Howard was one of the highest paid cast members in the 2008 original Iron Man, playing USAF Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, but was unceremoniously cut from the two sequels.
'The word was that you wanted the same money as Downey,' hinted Cohen, as the Hustle & Flow actor spilled the beans on his four-year grudge.
'We did a three picture deal, so that means that you did the deal ahead of time. There was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, and a certain amount for the third,' he explained.

Still angry: It has been four years since he was officially shunned from the Iron Man 2 cast, but Howard is still furious about the move

No reply: The Crash star said he called 'his friend' for an explanation but it took him three months to call back

'They came to me with the second and said, "Look, we will pay you one eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you."
'I called 'my friend' that I helped get the first job, and he didn't call me back for three months,' said the furious method actor.
When asked how things are now, Howard replied: 'Oh I love him, God's going to bless him,' he said sinisterly, causing a gasp from the audience.
'Two words for that,' responded Cohen, 'Messy boots.'

Big rewards: The super hero role provided Downey with both a career revival and a multi-million dollar pay check

According to Showbizcafe.com's Jack Rico, who appeared on the TODAY show on Friday, Howard earned $4.5 million for the first Iron Man, and was supposed to get $8 million for the second - but then that was renegotiated to just a million, which just wasn't enough.
On the flip side, the Less Than Zero star who dons the famous suit confirmed to GQ that he got $50 million for the third - and rumoured to be final - installment, which came out earlier this year.
'Isn't that crazy? he said in a recent interview. 'They're so p***ed. I can't believe it. I'm what's known as "a strategic cost"'.
MailOnline contacted Downey's reps, but they had no comment on the allegations.

Work friends: Terrence and Robert (pictured here at the London premiere of Iron Man in April 2008) were close colleagues when the first film came out