Actor Jonathan Majors avoided jail time but saw his once-promising career hit another setback Monday when he was sentenced to probation for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case last year.
The 34-year-old star of films like “Creed III” was ordered by a Manhattan judge to serve one year of probation and complete a 52-week batterer intervention program after being convicted in December of misdemeanor assault against Grace Jabbari.
Judge Michael Gaffey also mandated that Majors continue with mental health therapy as part of his sentence for the March 2023 altercation, in which Jabbari accused him of hitting her head, twisting her arm and fracturing her finger during an argument in a car.
“The incident left her with extreme emotional and physical pain,” Jabbari stated in a victim impact statement on Monday.
Majors had faced up to a year in jail for the conviction, which promptly led to him being dropped by Marvel Studios from his high-profile role as the villain Kang the Conqueror in the studio’s future films and shows.
The Yale-educated actor had hoped the trial would exonerate him, maintaining Jabbari was the aggressor after seeing a text from another woman. After the sentencing, his lawyers stated he “eagerly anticipates closing this chapter” and refocusing on “his family and his art.”
However, more legal troubles loom. Last month, Jabbari sued Majors in federal court for assault, battery, defamation and emotional distress, alleging escalating abuse over their 2021-2023 relationship – claims Majors’ team said they will counter with their own filings.
Once an Emmy-nominated rising star after his breakout in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” Majors’ career trajectory has been severely derailed. Marvel now must decide whether to recast Kang or chart a new course for that central villain role.
The case exemplifies the recent reputational hits for the superhero juggernaut as it grapples with real-world controversies overshadowing its $30 billion box office dominance.
This report has information obtained from The Associated Press