Jonathan Majors dropped by Marvel after assault and harassment guilty verdict

Actor Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend by a New York jury, and has been dropped from upcoming roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The Loki and Creed III star has been convicted by a jury of six of violent assault of his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari, after a two-week trial in Manhattan.

Jabbari, a British choreographer, accused Majors of assaulting her back in March of this year, leaving her with a fractured finger, a cut behind her ear, some bruising, and “excruciating” pain.

Majors was charged with two counts of assault and two counts of harassment.

After three days of deliberations, a jury found Majors guilty of one count of assault by recklessly causing physical injury and one count of harassment. Two other charges – of aggravated harassment and assault with intent to cause physical harm – were acquitted.

The Marvel actor could now face up to a year in jail. A sentencing hearing will be held in February.

Additionally, the judge issued a protection order that requires Majors to have no contact with Jabbari.

Over the course of the two-week trial, Jabbari told the court that Majors attacked her in a hired car in New York after she picked up his phone and saw a text message from another woman that read: “Wish I was kissing you right now.”

Jabbari’s legal team alleges that, after the choreographer grabbed his phone, Majors grabbed and twisted her arm behind her back and hit her in the head so that he could get it back.

Majors’ ex-girlfriend also described the actor’s “violent temper” in her testimony, recounting other examples of times when he had “exploded” with rage.

Prosecutor Kelli Galaway told the court in closing arguments on Thursday (14 December) that Jabbari “had shaped herself around the defendant, to cater to his personality, to avoid him being angry with her.”

Majors did not testify in court, though his lawyer argued that he was the victim in this scenario and that it was Jabbari who had assaulted him in a jealous rage.

His lawyer Priya Chaudhry said through tears in her closing argument: “You are here to end this nightmare for Jonathan Majors.”

The actor had filed his own legal complaint against Jabbari back in June, alleging that she had been the aggressor.

However, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office eventually declined to charge Jabarri because Majors’ countersuit “lacked prosecutorial merit.”

Upon hearing the jury’s verdict on Monday (18 December), Majors looked downwards and pursed his lips, Reuters reports.

Jabbari did issue a statement through lawyer Ross Kramer, who told BBC News that she was “gratified to see justice served” and hoped that the verdict would serve as inspiration for other abused women to speak out and come forward.

“Ms Jabbari testified publicly and truthfully, even though reliving these traumatic events on the witness stand was obviously painful,” said Kramer.

Shortly after Monday’s verdict, Variety reported that Marvel Studios had dropped Majors.

Majors had begun his stint as Kang the Conqueror, the central antagonist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse Saga, having already appeared in Marvel series Loki and 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.