Marvel axes actor found guilty of assault and harassment of ex-girlfriend

US

Marvel Studios has dropped actor Jonathan Majors after he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend.

Majors, 34, was convicted on two counts but acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.

A star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Majors featured in the series Loki, and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania – and was set to lead the next Avengers movie but has seen his career scuppered following the verdict.

A spokesperson for the Walt Disney-owned film studio said the actor would no longer appear in future projects.

Jonathan Majors, left, enters a courtroom at the Manhattan criminal courts in New York, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. The actor is accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend as the two struggled over a phone in the back seat of a chauffeured car. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Jonathan Majors. Pic: AP

The charges against the actor stemmed from a dispute between him and his British ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, that began in the backseat of a car in New York City.

Jabbari, a 30-year-old dancer, accused Majors of an attack inside the vehicle that left her in “excruciating” pain.

She said he struck her in the head, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured.

Majors’s lawyers said she was the aggressor, alleging that she flew into a 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.

They added Jabbari went out dancing with strangers after the alleged abusive encounter.

But Jabbari said she was seeking comfort from those who came to her aid on a street corner following the assault.

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Grace Jabbari, second from left, the accuser in the assault case against Jonathan Majors, leaves court after giving testimony, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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Grace Jabbari (left). Pic: AP

Majors’s lawyer claimed his client’s race played a factor in him being arrested instead of Jabbari after the alleged altercation.

The actor has maintained his innocence throughout, but now faces up to one year in jail after his conviction by a jury in Manhattan on Monday.

Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no immediate reaction in court.

A judge will sentence him on 6 February.

Since his arrest in March, Majors has lost various acting roles and endorsement deals, and his drama Magazine Dreams was pulled from release earlier this month.

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