Marvel actor Jonathan Majors sentenced to probation for assaulting ex-girlfriend

Marvel actor Jonathan Majors has been ordered to complete a year-long counselling programme but avoided jail time Monday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case that derailed the once-promising star’s career.

Majors, 34, the star of Creed III and other films had faced up to a year behind bars after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault by a Manhattan jury in December.

Judge Michael Gaffey sentenced Majors to conditional discharge after noting that both sides in the case agreed the charges did not warrant jail time.

He said Majors must complete a 52-week, in-person batterer’s intervention programme in Los Angeles, where the actor lives.

He also has to continue with the mental health therapy his lawyers say he has been participating in. Majors faces a year in jail if found in violation of the terms, which also included a no contact order with his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.

Majors, dressed in all black and accompanied by his girlfriend, actor Meagan Good, declined to address the court and left without speaking to reporters. But his lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said he will abide by the judge’s sentence but maintains his innocence and plans to appeal.

“He’s lost his whole career,” she said in court. “This has been the most challenging year of his life.”

Ms Jabbari, fighting back tears, told the court Majors refuses to acknowledge his guilt and remains a danger to those around him.

“He’s not sorry. He has not accepted responsibility, ” she said. “He will do this again and he will hurt other women. He believes he is above the law.”

Following the guilty verdict, Majors was immediately dropped by Marvel Studios, which had cast him as Kang the Conqueror, a role envisioned as the main villain in the entertainment empire’s movies and television shows for years to come.

The conviction stems from an altercation in March 2023 in which Majors’ then-girlfriend Ms Jabbari accused him of attacking her in the backseat of a chauffeured car, saying he hit her head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured.

Majors claimed the 31-year-old British dancer was the aggressor, flying into a jealous rage after reading a text message from another woman on his phone. He maintained he was only trying to regain his phone and escape Jabbari safely.

The jury ultimately convicted him of one assault charge and a harassment violation, though acquitted him on a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.

Majors was originally slated to be sentenced in February, but his lawyers sought to dismiss the conviction. A Manhattan judge denied the motion last week.

Majors had hoped his two-week criminal trial would vindicate him and restore his status in Hollywood.

In a television interview shortly after his conviction, he had said he deserves a second chance.

The Yale University graduate still faces Ms Jabbari’s civil suit, which she filed last month in Manhattan federal court.

In the suit, Ms Jabbari accuses Majors of assault, battery, defamation and inflicting emotional distress, claiming he subjected her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship.

The two met in 2021 on the set of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which Majors played Kang.

Majors’ lawyers have declined to respond to the claims, saying only that they are preparing to file counterclaims against Ms Jabbari.

The actor had his breakthrough role in 2019’s 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 to fictional boxing champ Adonis Creed in the blockbuster Creed III.

As for Marvel, a looming question remains whether the studio will recast the role of Kang or pivot in a new direction.

Majors’ departure was among a recent series of high-profile setbacks for the vaunted superhero factory, which has earned an unprecedented 30 billion dollars (£23.7 billion) worldwide from 33 films.