Jonathan Majors was convicted Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a two-week trial that the actor hoped would salvage his damaged reputation and restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star.
A Manhattan jury found Majors, 34, guilty of assault and harassment. He was also acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment. Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no immediate reaction, looking slightly downward.
His sentencing was set for Feb. 6.
The charges stemmed from a dispute between the 鈥淐reed III鈥� actor and his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, that began in the backseat of a chauffeured car and spilled into the streets of Manhattan one night last March.
Jabbari, a 30-year-old British dancer, accused Majors of an attack inside the vehicle that left her in 鈥渆xcruciating鈥� pain. She said he struck her in the head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured.
Majors鈥� lawyers said she was the aggressor, alleging that she flew into a jealous rage after reading a text message on his phone sent by another woman. They said Jabbari had spread a 鈥渇antasy鈥� to take down the actor, who was only trying to regain his phone and get away safely.
The verdict dealt a major blow to Majors, who was until his arrest in March sent his career into a tailspin.
Once slated to lead the next phase of the Marvel universe as the supervillain Kang the Conqueror, Majors faced an uncertain future with the lucrative franchise after the abuse charges. The actor, who attended the Yale School of Drama, has lost other parts and endorsement deals and seen his critically-acclaimed drama, 鈥淢agazine Dreams,鈥� pulled from its scheduled release earlier this month.
Majors arrived in the courtroom each morning carrying a gold-leaf Bible, offering hugs to his family members and his current girlfriend, actress Meagan Good, before taking his seat. Expressionless for much of the testimony, he wiped away tears as his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, urged jurors to 鈥渆nd this nightmare for Jonathan Majors.鈥�
But as Majors sought vindication from the jury, the trial also brought forth new evidence about his troubled relationship with Jabbari, whom he met on the set of 鈥淎nt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania鈥� two years ago.
Accusing Majors of a 鈥渃ruel and manipulative pattern鈥� of abuse, prosecutors shared text messages that showed the actor begging Jabbari for an earlier head injury. One message warned 鈥渋t could lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something.鈥�
They also played audio of Majors declaring himself a 鈥済reat man,鈥� then questioning whether Jabbari could meet the high standards set by the spouses of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. Majors鈥� attorneys countered that Jabbari had surreptitiously recorded her boyfriend as part of her plot to 鈥渄estroy鈥� his career.
Over four days of tearful testimony, Jabbari said Majors was excessively controlling and that left her afraid 鈥減hysically quite a lot.鈥� She broke down on the witness stand as a jury watched security footage from the aftermath of the backseat confrontation, which prosecutors said showed Majors 鈥渕anhandling鈥� her and shoving her back in the car 鈥渁s if she was a doll.鈥�
Majors did not take the stand. But Chaudhry said her client was the victim of 鈥渨hite lies, big lies, and pretty little lies鈥� invented by Jabbari to exact revenge on an unfaithful partner.
The attorney cited security footage, taken immediately after the shove, that showed Majors sprinting away from his girlfriend as she chased him through the night. Jabbari then followed a group of strangers she鈥檇 met on the street to a dance club, where she ordered drinks for the group and did not appear to be favoring her injured hand.
鈥淪he was revenge-partying and charging Champagne to the man she was angry with and treating these strangers to fancy Champagne she bought with Jonathan鈥檚 credit card,鈥� Chaudhry alleged.
The next morning, after finding Jabbari unconscious in the closet of their Manhattan penthouse, Majors called police. He was arrested at the scene, while Jabbari was transported to a hospital to receive treatment for the injuries to her ear and hand.
鈥淗e called 911 out of concern for her, and his fear of what happens when a Black man in America came true,鈥� Chaudhry said, accusing police and prosecutors of failing to take seriously Majors鈥� allegations that he was bloodied and scratched during the dispute.
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Kelli Galaway said Majors was following a well-worn playbook used by abusers to reverse the narrative by casting their victims as attackers.
鈥淭his is not a revenge plot to ruin the defendant鈥檚 life or his career,鈥� Galaway said. 鈥淵ou were asked why you are here? Because domestic violence is serious.鈥�
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