Actor Jonathan Majors, 34, has spoken out for the first time since his conviction for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, describing the aftermath of the trial as “hard.”
In a teaser clip for an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Majors, visibly teary, addressed the impact of the high-profile trial on his career.
The anchor asks him why he decided to speak out now and inquires about his prospects of working in Hollywood again. “Why did you decide you wanted to talk now?” anchor Linsey Davis asked the disgraced rising star in the clip. “Do you think you’ll ever work in Hollywood again?”
Majors’ Hollywood future has been uncertain after his recent conviction in New York for assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, 30. The guilty verdict resulted in his removal from a Marvel project, and the fate of another anticipated film remains in question.
In the actor’s revealing interview with Davis, he said he was shocked after he was found guilty.
“I was absolutely shocked and afraid,” Majors said in the ABC News interview. “I’m standing there, and the verdict comes down, and I say: ‘How is—how is that possible based off the evidence? Based off the prosecution’s evidence, let alone our evidence, how is that possible?’”
The actor said he plans to appeal, however, he is speaking out now as “part of healing.” “It’s about responsibility and coming forward and being brave and giving my part of the story,” he said.
The actor’s emotional discussion comes after being dropped from his Marvel role as Kang the Conqueror, owned by Disney, which also owns ABC News. Majors’ conviction traces back to a March 2023 incident in downtown Manhattan involving a heated argument with his ex-girlfriend, Jabbari.
The dispute ensued when Jabbari discovered a flirty text message on Majors’ phone. During the altercation, Jabbari testified that she experienced excruciating pain as Majors allegedly struck her on the head and broke her finger in the back of an SUV.
Surveillance footage captured the altercation spilling onto the streets of Manhattan, with Jabbari seen chasing Majors and further physical confrontation between the two.
Jabbari recently broke her silence and received support from a domestic violence charity during the controversy. Her lawyer, Brittany Henderson, expressed that justice was served with Majors’ conviction and hoped it would encourage other survivors to speak out.
Although Majors faces a misdemeanor charge and a potential one-year jail term, the repercussions of his guilty verdict have already impacted him beyond the courtroom. Aside from being publicly dropped by Marvel, Majors’ highly anticipated film “Magazine Dreams” also faces potential cancellation.
Despite early Oscar nomination predictions for Majors’ performance as a troubled bodybuilder in the movie, Disney, the film’s producer, has put it on hold in light of the allegations against him. The streaming platform must now decide whether to continue with the project or abandon it altogether.
During Majors’ trial, jurors were presented with damning evidence, including an audio recording of him berating Jabbari during an argument for not meeting the standards of Michelle Obama and Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King.
Prosecutors contended that Majors engaged in a “cruel and manipulative pattern of abuse” against Jabbari, discouraging her from seeking help by suggesting it could trigger an investigation. Images presented in court included one displaying a sizable dent in a wall, attributed to Majors throwing a candle at Jabbari during a Los Angeles altercation.
Jurors heard conflicting arguments on whether Majors was the aggressor or a victim in the March 2023 incident. After four days of deliberation, Majors was found guilty of assault and recklessly causing physical injury but acquitted on charges of intending to cause physical injury.
Due to the mixed verdict, Majors’ lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, claimed that jurors did not wholly believe Jabbari’s account, expressing hope to clear Majors’ name.
