Marvel, Disney cut ties with Jonathan Majors after actor convicted in assault of girlfriend
CBC
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.
But shortly after the verdict, a spokesperson for Walt Disney-owned Marvel told Reuters the studio had dropped the actor from future projects.
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 Creed III actor and his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, that began in the back seat 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 "excruciating" 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' 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 "fantasy" 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 on the verge of Hollywood stardom until his arrest in March sent his career into a tailspin.
Once slated to lead the next phase of the Marvel universe, Majors faced an uncertain future with the lucrative franchise after the abuse charges. Majors portrayed a villain known as Kang the Conqueror in this year's Ant-Man movie and was scheduled to play the lead role in 2026 release Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
The actor, who attended the Yale School of Drama, has lost other parts and endorsement deals. His critically acclaimed drama, Magazine Dreams, was 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 "end this nightmare for Jonathan Majors."
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 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania two years ago.
Accusing Majors of a "cruel and manipulative pattern" of abuse, prosecutors shared text messages that showed the actor begging Jabbari not to seek hospital treatment for an earlier head injury. One message warned, "It could lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something."
They also played audio of Majors declaring himself a "great man," then questioning whether Jabbari could meet the high standards set by the spouses of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama.
Majors' attorneys countered that Jabbari had surreptitiously recorded her boyfriend as part of her plot to "destroy" his career.
