Emmy-nominated actor Jonathan Majors, once one of the film industry’s fastest-rising new stars, was found guilty of assault and harassment of his former girlfriend in a car in Manhatten on Monday.
A six-person jury in New York reached the verdict following four hours of deliberations spread over three days. He was found not guilty of two charges of intentional assault in the third degree and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree.
Majors, wearing a gray suit, black dress pants and black dress shirt and tie, stood with his attorney as the verdict was read. The charges, a misdemeanor, and a violation could mean up to a year in prison for the Marvel actor. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6.
Majors’ attorney implied he will appeal the sentence in a released statement following the verdict.
On two other charges, he was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree. Attorney Priya Chaudhry, said Majors “looks forward to fully clearing his name. Mr. Majors is grateful to God, his family, his friends, and his fans for their love and support during these harrowing eight months.”
But the damage to his once-promising career has apparently been done. Just hours after the verdict was read, Marvel Studios announced that Majors is being dropped. Majors was set to play Kang the Conqueror in upcoming Marvel films.
Majors faced four charges of assault, aggravated harassment and harassment against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari on March 25. Police found that she had lacerations behind her ear along with bruised and fractured fingers. Majors denied all charges.
On the witness stand, Jabbari said Majors caused her injuries. Jabbari testified that the two got into a disagreement after she saw text messages apparently from another woman on Majors’ phone. Jabbari has said she tried to snatch the phone from Majors, who then pried her finger from the phone, grabbed her arm and right hand, twisted her forearm and struck her head to get the phone away from her.
In a statement after the verdict, Ross Kramer, an attorney for Jabbari, said they hope the guilty verdict inspires other victims of assault.
“We are gratified to see justice served by today’s guilty verdict,” the statement read. “Ms. Jabbari testified publicly and truthfully, even though reliving these traumatic events on the witness stand was obviously painful. We are grateful to the jurors and the Judge for their attention and patience, and to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their hard work and support.
“Ms. Jabbari’s resolve to see this case through to the end demonstrates her tremendous strength and resilience. Unfortunately, for every survivor like Ms. Jabbari who comes forward to hold their abuser accountable, there are many others who believe that they cannot. We hope that her actions will inspire other survivors to speak their truth and seek justice,” Kramer’s statement added.
The first three charges are misdemeanor offenses and related to alleged incidents in the car. The fourth charge of harassment, which is a violation (the most minor offense among the charges), relates to an allegation that Majors threw Jabbari back into the car as she tried to exit. The defense argued that he placed her back in the car to stop her from running into traffic. That action is captured on surveillance video, while the altercation inside the car was not captured on camera.
The charges against Majors were brought by the state of New York rather than by Jabbari herself. The case was a criminal trial, as opposed to civil, meaning the burden of proof is higher for the jury, who had to find proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on each charge.
The arrest already had implications on what had been the biggest year in Majors’ career, which included starring roles in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Creed III and Loki season two. In the wake of his arrest, both his publicity firm, the Lede Company, and managers at Management 360 dropped him and the Disney-owned Searchlight Features removed Magazine Dreams from its release calendar.