NEW YORK — Actor Jonathan Majors will be sentenced Monday in a New York court for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, a conviction that has already derailed the once-rising star’s career.
The actor could be sentenced to up to a year in prison or simply given probation after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of assault in December.
Lawyers for Majors and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to say ahead of the hearing what sentence they will seek from a judge.
Following the guilty verdict, Majors was immediately dropped by Marvel Studios, which had cast him as Kang the Conqueror, a role that would serve as the main villain in the entertainment empire’s films and television shows for years to come.
The conviction stems from a March 2023 altercation in which Majors’ then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari accused him of assaulting her in the backseat of a chauffeur-driven car, saying he punched her in the head, her arm, with his open hand turned behind her back and squeezed her. middle finger until it broke.
Majors claimed the 31-year-old British dancer was the aggressor, who flew into a jealous rage after reading a text message from another woman on his phone. He claimed he was just trying to get his phone back and escape Jabbari safely.
The jury ultimately convicted him of one charge of assault and an offense of intimidation, although they acquitted him of another charge of assault and aggravated intimidation.
Majors was originally scheduled to be sentenced in February, but his attorneys tried to have the conviction thrown out. A judge in Manhattan denied the motion last week.
Majors had hoped that his two-week criminal trial would vindicate him and restore his status in Hollywood.
Shortly after his conviction, he said in a television interview that he deserves a second chance.
“While he eagerly awaits closing this chapter, he looks forward to focusing his time and energy fully on his family and his art,” Majors’ attorneys said in a statement last week after completing their bid to overturn the conviction. to have it destroyed had lost.
But the 34-year-old California native and Yale University graduate still faces other legal hurdles. Last month, Jabbari filed a civil suit in Manhattan federal court, accusing the actor of assault, battery, defamation and infliction of emotional distress.
She claims Majors subjected her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship, which lasted from 2021 to 2023.
Majors’ lawyers have declined to comment on the claims, saying only that they are preparing to file counterclaims against Jabbari.
The actor had his breakthrough in 2019 in ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’. He also starred in the HBO horror series “Lovecraft Country,” which earned him an Emmy nomination, and as the nemesis of fictional boxing champion Adonis Creed in the blockbuster “Creed III.”
As for Marvel, a looming question remains as to whether the studio will recast Kang’s role or take it in a new direction.
Majors’ departure was part of a recent series of high-profile setbacks for the critically acclaimed superhero company, which has earned an unprecedented $30 billion worldwide from 33 films.
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