After a trial in New York, actor Jonathan Majors has been convicted of abusing his then-girlfriend.
Majors, best known for his role as ‘Kang’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was found guilty of assaulting British choreographer Grace Jabbari after an incident in March, according to the verdict. She testified in court that she suffered a fractured finger, bruises, a cut behind her ear, and “excruciating” agony.
Majors now faces up to a year in prison, with his role in upcoming Marvel films in limbo. The judgement of the six-person jury was revealed on Monday, after three days of deliberation. The crime occurred in New York while the pair was in a vehicle, and Ms. Jabbari noticed a text message from another lady on Majors’ phone that stated, “Wish I was kissing you right now.”
Prosecutors claim that when she seized the phone, he grabbed her, pulled her arm behind her back, and punched her in the head to get it back.
“I felt like there was a hard blow across my head,” Ms. Jabbari stated.
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He was found guilty of two of the four domestic violence counts he was facing by the jury. Majors was convicted of assault by recklessly causing bodily harm and harassment. However, the jury declined to convict him on aggravated harassment and assault with intent to inflict bodily injury counts.
The attack, according to the prosecution, was the next step in Majors’ attempts to “exert control” over his partner through physical and mental abuse. They showed the jury audio recordings and text conversations between the former couple.
“I’m a monster. A horrible man. Not capable of love,” the actor sent in September 2022 while threatening to kill himself.
Majors advised her in an argument the same month that she needed to act more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama, the spouses of Martin Luther King and former President Barack Obama, respectively.
“I am doing great things, not just for me but for my culture and the world,” he said, adding that she would need to “make sacrifices” for him.
Majors, 34, did not testify. However, his lawyer claims that the actor was the victim and that Ms. Jabbari beat him in a jealous frenzy after discovering the text message in the car.
Majors, who also appeared in Creed III, filed a counter-suit in June, saying that she was the aggressor, but prosecutors rejected arresting her owing to a lack of evidence.
The actor and his attorneys are yet to release a statement in reaction to his conviction.
In February 2024, a sentencing hearing will be held, but until then, the judge also ordered a fresh protective order barring him from contacting Ms. Jabbari.
Ms. Jabbari had met Majors two years ago while working as a movement coach on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania movie.
Following his incarceration, Marvel postponed the production of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty movie, in which Mr Majors would portray the major villain.