I KNEW I Hated Terrence Howard for a Reason!

Nice mugshot, Bigmouth.

No WONDER Terrence Howard was so blase` about Chris Brown smacking up Rihanna...he's a member of the "Smack My Bitch Up Club", too! What a surprise.

The Smoking Gun reports this juicy bit of news:

Police and court records reveal that Howard, 39, was once arrested for a similar crime, the details of which have not been previously reported. The actor, who co-starred in "Iron Man" and was nominated in 2006 for an Academy Award for his role in "Hustle & Flow," was arrested by Pennsylvania cops in September 2001 for assaulting his estranged wife. According to a Whitemarsh Police Department report, after Howard and Lori McCommas argued on the phone, the actor warned, "Don't disrespect me by hanging up on me or I'll come over and hurt you." McCommas then "hung up and contacted 911 fearing Howard was serious." While McCommas was speaking with a police dispatcher, Howard "showed up at the victim's residence and began breaking the door down." McCommas ran to the rear of the house and into the backyard. Howard then "broke the front door down and ran through the screen door in the kitchen. Howard then grabbed the victim's left arm and punched her twice with a closed fist in the left side of the face." The attack was broken up by Howard's brother, who responded to McCommas's house after he "saw Howard storm out of their house to go to the victim's house." When a Whitemarsh cop responded to the scene, Howard admitted, "I broke the door down and hit my wife."

Remember, Howard's statement regarding the Chris Brown/Rihanna blow-up from last week was, "It's just life, man. Chris is a great guy. He'll be alright," said Howard. "And Rihanna knows he loves her, you know? They'll be alright."

Mr. Howard appeared in the film Iron Man with Robert Downey, Jr. (and has since been replaced with another actor for the sequel because he's such a douche), and was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Hustle and Flow.

Pssh. No one would have even looked for this crap if he hadn't shown his true abusive a-hole colors.