The jury has reached a verdict in Marvel star Jonathan Majors’ trial on domestic violence charges.
Majors, 34, was charged with assault and aggravated harassment, both misdemeanors, stemming from a March altercation with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in New York City.
He faces up to a year in prison if convicted.
Jonathan Majors stands in court during a hearing in his domestic violence case, June 20, 2023, in New York.
Steven Hirsch/AP, FILE
Majors, who has played the role of Kang in several Marvel films and TV shows, was accused of assaulting Jabbari in the backseat of a for-hire Cadillac Escalade after she says she grabbed his phone when a message from another woman popped up.
Prosecutors claimed Majors inflicted a “manipulative pattern of psychological abuse” and physical abuse on Jabbari that culminated in the incident in the SUV that left her with a cut behind her ear and a broken finger.
Prosecutor Michael Perez said during opening statements that Majors “grabbed and squeezed her hand, her right middle finger specifically” and then “struck a blow that swiped across the right side of her head.” Then, after they got out of the vehicle, he picked Jabbari up and shoved her back into the car, Perez said.
The defense claimed that Jabbari was the aggressor and physically attacked Majors so blatantly that the driver of their for-hire SUV called her “psycho girl” — and that he was left bloodied and ran to a hotel to hide from her.
“This is a case about the end of a relationship, not about a crime,” defense attorney Priya Chaudhry said in opening statements, telling the six-person jury that Jabbari made false accusations after Majors “canceled her Mrs. Majors plan.”
“Even though the world may see him as a movie star, he is a normal person,” Chaudhry said of Majors. “His career was unstoppable until he ended the relationship with Ms. Jabbari and she made these false allegations.”
Actor Jonathan Majors, center, arrives at court for his domestic abuse trial, Dec. 5, 2023, in New York.
Bebeto Matthews/AP
Jabbari took the stand over four days during the trial, testifying for the state as the first witness.
She told the court that Majors first became angry with her in December 2021 and detailed at times through tears several instances of him being mean or aggressive.
According to previously undisclosed text messages read during the trial, Majors implored Jabbari not to seek medical attention in September 2022 for a head injury. The nature of the injury was not disclosed and the jury was instructed to consider the messages as background in the trial.
While detailing the night of the incident, Jabbari said her head was resting on Majors’ shoulder in the SUV as he was scrolling on his phone when a message popped up saying, “I wish I was kissing you.”
She said she was shocked and grabbed his phone and turned away from him. At that point, she said she “felt a heavy thud on top of me. What I knew to be the weight of him on top of me and him trying to pry the phone out of my fingers.”
She described Majors pulling her right hand behind her back while holding the phone in her left hand, saying, “It just felt like he was twisting my arm and my hand and trying to make me feel pain.”
The defense played surveillance footage from that night that appeared to show Majors lift Jabbari and thrust her into the vehicle in an attempt to undermine her testimony. Jabbari said she thought she was facing out at the time, though the footage appears to show her facing the other way.
Jurors also heard the 911 call Majors made the following morning that precipitated the NYPD’s domestic violence investigation and his arrest on March 25. He reported that his “ex-partner” was unconscious in his apartment and he had just returned from staying at a hotel and didn’t know what happened. Prosecutors also showed photos taken by police of Jabbari’s injuries, including a cut to her ear and an apparently bruised and swollen finger.
Other witnesses included the driver of the for-hire SUV, who told the court through an Urdu language interpreter that it sounded like Jabbari hit Majors in the vehicle, according to Courthouse News Service. The driver also testified he saw Majors push her back into the SUV while the two argued outside the vehicle, the publication reported.
Majors declined to testify in his own defense. The defense rested its case after calling three witnesses on Wednesday.
Actor Jonathan Majors, center, arrives at court for a trial on his domestic violence case, Dec. 4, 2023, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
Attorneys agreed to consolidate the multiple assault counts against Majors into a single count. He also faced aggravated harassment charges after prosecutors said he “used both his hands to pick Ms. Jabbari up and shove her back into the SUV.”
Majors pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Jabbari herself was arrested in October in New York on multiple charges, though the Manhattan district attorney’s office subsequently said it decided not to prosecute her because the case “lacks prosecutorial merit.”
Majors attended the trial accompanied by his girlfriend, the actress Meagan Good, and was often seen carrying a Bible.
The actor is known for his roles in the “Ant-Man” films, as well as starring in the Disney+ TV show “Loki.”
In the villainous role of Kang the Conqueror, Majors is scheduled to appear in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.