Grace Jabbari, the former girlfriend of Marvel star Jonathan Majors, cried on the stand as lawyers played police bodycam footage during her third day of testimony in the actor's assault trial.
Jabbari, a 30-year-old British choreographer, has accused Majors of hitting her on the side of the head and squeezing her hand until her middle finger broke during an argument that started after she read a romantic text message on his phone that was sent by another woman. .
During cross-examination, defense attorney Priya Chaudhry played grainy security footage from a Manhattan nightclub in an attempt to cast doubt on the accuser's claim that she suffered excruciating pain and injuries after an alleged attack by the actor last spring.
While playing police body camera footage of her first conversation with police, Jabbari burst into tears and fled from the witness stand, reported The everyday beast.
She could be heard sobbing as Majors sat at the defense table. Moments later, the 30-year-old returned to the New York City courtroom, apologized for her outburst and begged to stop watching.
Grace Jabbari will appear in Manhattan District Court on December 7 for the assault trial against Jonathan Majors. She collapsed on the stand during cross-examination
Jonathan Majors and his new girlfriend Meagan Goode appear in court. Majors has pleaded not guilty to the assault charges
Majors (center) with his mother (left) and new girlfriend (right) on December 7. Defense attorneys have called the case against Majors a “witch hunt.”
Jabbari was peppered by Majors' attorney with questions about video clips in which she used her injured hand for tasks such as lifting a champagne glass, searching through her purse or brushing strands of hair behind her ear.
Chaudhry highlighted the fact that Jabbari went to a nightclub with three strangers she met on the street after the alleged attack.
Surveillance video shows one of the bystanders confronting Majors, who briefly returned to the scene and motioned for Jabbari to get back in the car before leaving.
Feeling desperate and not wanting to be alone, Jabbari said she accompanied the three strangers to a nightclub called Loosie's, where she ordered a bottle of champagne and a round of shots with her new friends.
Chaudhry said, “Did you pick up the lime with your right hand? And you put the lime in your mouth? You sucked the lime and put the rest of the lime peel back on the bar with your right hand, right?'
Jabbari responded that she was running on adrenaline and shock after the attack and only realized the extent of her injuries when she woke up the next morning and “felt like I was hit by a bus.”
'I didn't focus on pain. “I was just trying to have a good time,” she said. 'There were such lovely people there and I felt safe with them.'
Chaudhry has suggested that Jabbari would not have gone to the club if she was as injured as she claimed, at points suggesting the accuser might have injured herself while intoxicated later in the evening.
Before the start of the trial, the lawyer distributed video footage of Jabbari in the nightclub to the press, claiming it provided “irrefutable” evidence that the case against Majors was a “witch hunt.”
Prosecutors have accused Majors of directing a “cruel and manipulative” pattern of abuse against Jabbari, culminating in the attack in the backseat of the car.
Grace Jabbari left court in New York City on December 5 after publicly recounting the “excruciating attack” she claims she suffered at the hands of Marvel star Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors, left, and his girlfriend Meagan Good held hands as they entered the courtroom on Dec. 4
On Wednesday, Jabbari testified about the “substantial” pain she suffered after the actor allegedly attacked her in the backseat of a taxi this spring, as photos of the woman's injuries were shared with a Manhattan jury for the first time.
Jabbari said Majors became “full of anger and aggression” while training for the role last summer, sometimes throwing objects at the wall during their frequent arguments.
She said she was conditioned to accept mistakes to assuage his “violent temper” during their relationship.
Of her injuries, she said: “When I tried to sleep I was very aware that I couldn't lie on the right side of my head,” she said. “It was a situation where everything hurts.”
The actor was arrested last March after a dispute with his girlfriend in the backseat of a chauffeured car, which began when Jabbari read a “romantic” text message sent to Majors by another woman.
After Jabbari took his phone, Majors allegedly grabbed her finger, twisted her arm behind her back and hit her hard on the back of the head in an attempt to wrestle the device away.
Majors is accused of grabbing Jabbari (pictured right) and twisting her arm on the way home from a night out after noticing a flirtatious text message from another woman. He denies the accusations
When the driver stopped and the couple got out of the vehicle, Majors picked her up and threw her back into the car, Jabbari testified, hitting her head on the door frame of the SUV.
Majors has pleaded not guilty to the assault and harassment charges. His attorney has argued that Jabbari was the instigator, telling a jury Wednesday that he emerged from the car scratched and bloodied.
The arrest has upended Majors' soaring career, calling into question his future as the kingpin of the Marvel multiverse.
Majors was previously set to reprise his role as supervillain Kang the Conqueror in two upcoming Avengers films.
The release of “Magazine Dreams,” in which Majors received critical acclaim for his role as an aspiring bodybuilder, was also postponed until its scheduled opening this week.