I think the overwhelming majority of women collectively starting hating Terrence Howard after he gave his infamous “baby wipes” interview. The interview was from 2007, and it haunts him to this day. People STILL bring it up. In between uttering such lines as “I like women who look like me. Generally, you’re attracted to women who look like you, because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection,” Terrence went on to describe his “dealbreaker” for ladies as “Toilet paper – and no baby wipes – in the bathroom. If they’re using dry paper, they aren’t washing all of themselves. It’s just unclean. So if I go in a woman’s house and see the toilet paper there, I’ll explain this. And if she doesn’t make the adjustment to baby wipes, I’ll know she’s not completely clean.”

Which is a lengthy way of saying that I have no problems believing any bad story about Terrence Howard. In February, his second wife, Michelle, filed for divorce, and she recently filed for a restraining order against Howard. TMZ got their hands on her filing, in which she claims that Howard was repeatedly physically abusive towards her:

Terrence Howard’s estranged wife got a restraining order against the actor this morning — claiming Howard constantly beats her and threatens to kill her … but Terrence says it’s all a big, fat lie.

Michelle Howard filed court documents, obtained by TMZ, claiming Terrence began beating her up just 7 days after they were married in January 2010. In the docs, Michelle claims Howard “slugged me across my face and neck” … and threatened to throw her off a balcony.

Michelle claims the violence continued throughout their marriage — with Terrence allegedly committing several violent acts, such as:

— smacking her in the face and chipping her tooth with his wedding ring
— throwing her down to the ground in a parking lot
— telling her, “I’ll hit a woman quicker than I’d hit a man”
— Saying, “If you tell anyone about my personal business, I will kill you and no one will ever know”
— Screaming, “Bitch, walk home. That’s my car, I pay for it.”

Howard also filed legal papers, adamantly denying that he EVER threatened Michelle — but claiming she has been threatening to “release private materials to 3rd parties for her own personal financial gain” unless he paid her money. Sources connected to the case tell TMZ … the material in question includes a video of Howard singing naked in the shower.

This morning, an L.A. County Superior Court judge granted Michelle a temporary restraining order preventing Howard from going near her or contacting her until their next court hearing.

Michelle filed for divorce back in February.

[From TMZ]

All of the descriptions of abuse are terrible except for “Bitch, walk home. That’s my car, I pay for it.” I would be terribly offended if a dude said that to me, but I’d be lying if I said that I couldn’t imagine EVER saying that in my own life. But as for the claims of physical abuse… God knows. I would imagine a lady would have to put up with a lot of baby wiping heartbreak just to marry Terrence, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if a crazy dude like Howard only attracted equally crazy women. I’m going to go with Michelle’s side of the story, though. Because, as I said, I’ll believe anything about Terrence Howard.

Photos courtesy of WENN.