Terrence Howard's ex-wife has accused him of threatening to kill her.

The 46-year-old actor is the subject of a lawsuit from Michelle Ghent - who he married in January 2010, but split from 11 months later, with their divorce finalised in May 2013 - who claims he grabbed her by the neck, pushed her against the bathroom wall and began strangling her during a heated argument in a rental house in Costa Rica in 2013. She also alleged he threatened to kill her and then mule kicked her.

According to TMZ.com, the commercial production employee filed the lawsuit just one day before the statute of limitations ran, and the 'Empire' actor has insisted it was mutual combat, claiming she pepper spayed him during the fight.

Back in June 2013, Michelle filed legal documents alleging she was sucker punched by the actor, and claimed the argument occurred because he asked if they could rekindle their romance in the wake of their divorce.

In the original documents, she claimed she pepper sprayed him because Terrence walked over to a bedside table where he kept a knife which was four to six inches in length, and at that point she claimed the actor knocked her down and kicked her repeatedly in the head.

In addition to a black eye, Michelle said she had contusions and swelling.

In May, the 'Iron Man' star also claimed his ex-wife threatened to leak pictures of his genitals over their spousal support battle, and his attorney Brian Kramer filed legal documents, which included secret recordings of Michelle's threats.