Marvel, Disney drop actor Majors after he’s convicted of assault
NEW YORK — Jonathan Majors was convicted Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a two-week trial that he hoped would restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star, but did just the opposite with Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropping him immediately after his conviction.
A Manhattan jury found Mr. Majors, 34, guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation. He was acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.
Mr. Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no immediate reaction, looking slightly downward. He declined to comment as he left the courthouse.
Marvel and Disney immediately dropped Mr. Majors from all upcoming projects following the conviction, said a person close to the studio who was granted anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Mr. Majors had earlier planned to be a central figure throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing the antagonist role of Kang. Mr. Majors had already appeared in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the first two seasons of “Loki.” He was to star in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” dated for release in May 2026.
Mr. Majors, whose credits include “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “Devotion” and “Da 5 Bloods,” had been one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood. The actor, who attended the Yale School of Drama, also starred as a troubled amateur bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams,” which made an acclaimed debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was earlier set to open in theaters this month. Ahead of Mr. Majors’ trial, the Disney-owned distributor Searchlight Pictures, removed “Magazine Dreams” from its release calendar.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that the trial showed a pattern of abuse and coercion that a jury determined “culminated with Mr. Majors assaulting and harassing his girlfriend.”
Mr. Majors’ sentencing was set for Feb. 6. He faces the possibility of up to a year in jail for the assault conviction, though probation or other non-jail sentences also are possible.
The charges stemmed from a dispute between the “Creed III” 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.
Ms. Jabbari, a 30-year-old British dancer, accused Mr. Majors of attacking her inside the car, saying he hit her in the head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured. She said she suffered “excruciating” pain.
Mr. Majors’ lawyers said she was the aggressor, alleging that she flew into a jealous rage after reading a text message — from another woman — on his phone. They said Ms. 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 Mr. Majors, who was on the verge of Hollywood stardom until his arrest sent his career into a tailspin.
Mr. Majors arrived in the courtroom each morning carrying a goldleaf 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 Mr. 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 “AntMan and the Wasp: Quantumania” two years ago.
Over four days of tearful testimony, Ms. Jabbari said Mr. Majors was excessively controlling and prone to fits of explosive rage that left her afraid “physically quite a lot.”