Marvel drops Jonathan Majors from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty amid assault

The Marvel star faces up to a year in jail for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, a British choreographer.

Actor Jonathan Majors, who plays the villain Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in New York. The jury delivered the verdict on Monday after three days of deliberations.

Majors, 34, attacked Jabbari in March, when they were in a car and she saw a text message from another woman on his phone, which said: “Wish I was kissing you right now”. He grabbed her, twisted her arm behind her back and hit her in the head to get the phone back, leaving her with a fractured finger, bruising, a cut behind her ear and “excruciating” pain.

He was convicted of two of the four domestic violence charges he faced: assault by recklessly causing physical injury and harassment. He was acquitted of aggravated harassment and assault with intent to cause physical harm.

The prosecution said the assault was part of Majors’ pattern of physical and emotional abuse towards Jabbari, whom he met on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2021. They presented evidence of voice recordings and text messages in which Majors threatened to kill himself, called himself a monster and told Jabbari she needed to act more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama.

Majors did not testify in his own defense. His lawyer argued that he was the victim and that Jabbari assaulted him in a jealous rage. Majors also filed a countersuit against Jabbari in June, claiming that she was the actual aggressor, but the prosecutors did not charge her due to lack of evidence.

Majors now faces up to a year in jail and a possible ban from contacting Jabbari, who has a protection order against him. A sentencing hearing will be held in February. Majors and his lawyers have not commented on the verdict.

The conviction casts doubt on Majors’ future in the Marvel franchise, where he is expected to play the main antagonist in several upcoming films. Marvel has already delayed the release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Magazine Dreams, a drama that was considered a potential Oscar contender, following the allegations against Majors.

Jabbari’s lawyer, Ross Kramer, said she was “gratified to see justice served” and hoped her case would inspire other abused women to come forward. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the case highlighted the prevalence of intimate partner violence and the need to hold abusers accountable.