Prosecutors in the Jonathan Majors case have revealed a previously unreported incident involving London police, which they believe is relevant to their domestic violence allegations.
Majors was arrested on March 25 in Manhattan and is accused of assault and aggravated harassment following an alleged domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
In a new, 115-page filing obtained by Variety, prosecutors say they are attempting to get a copy of a London Metropolitan Police report from September 2022. While it is unclear what that report contains, the filing references medical care obtained by Jabbari at that time. Jabbari is a citizen of the U.K., and Majors was in London during that period, filming season two of the Disney+ Marvel series “Loki.”
This development comes a day before Majors has to return to court for his domestic violence case. Wednesday’s court appearance is expected to be one of the final pre-trial hearings before the judge rules on whether to proceed with or dismiss the case.
The lengthy filing from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is in response to the actor’s motion to dismiss the case. It does not entirely lay out the D.A.’s case, though it is intended to provide enough detail to move the case toward trial. Variety previously reported that additional alleged abuse victims of Majors are cooperating with the D.A.’s office
The filing also alleges that Majors’ legal team has leaked and misrepresented court evidence, as well as attempted to have police create a wanted poster with Jabbari’s photo. It also dismisses the idea that the D.A. has any plans to prosecute Jabbari for domestic violence alleged by Majors in a counter-claim, contradicting recent media reports that claimed such an action was imminent.
The document also offers new details on the events that led to Majors’ arrest. On March 25, he and Jabbari were taking a private car service from a Brooklyn party to their Chelsea apartment, according to the filing. Jabbari, who worked as a movement coach alongside Majors on Disney’s Marvel tentpole “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” saw a text message on Majors’ phone that read, “Wish I was kissing you right now.”
She allegedly took the phone out of his hands to see who sent the message. Majors then “began grabbing the right side of Ms. Jabbari’s body and prying Ms. Jabbari’s right middle finger off the phone, causing bruising, swelling, and substantial pain.” The filing continues that Majors “then grabbed Ms. Jabbari’s arm and right hand and proceeded to twist Ms. Jabbari’s forearm, causing substantial pain to her finger and arm. The defendant then struck Ms. Jabbari’s right ear, causing a laceration to the back of her ear and substantial pain.”
After he retrieved his phone, Majors exited the vehicle and Jabbari attempted to follow the actor. That’s when “the defendant grabbed her, picked her up, and threw her back inside … [and] sustained substantial pain, including a fractured finger, bruising about her body, a laceration behind her right ear, and a bump on her head,” according to the filing.
The filing calls into question a number of media leaks that paint Jabbari as the aggressor. In the time since the arrest, Majors’ criminal defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry has alleged that it was Jabbari who assaulted Majors, and “not the other way around.” Chaudhry also called the case a “witch hunt,” one that is “saturated with explicit and implicit bias.” Majors has pleaded not guilty to the four charges leveled against him; a fifth charge of strangulation was dropped.
Majors’ lawyers have previously alleged there’s a video that shows “at least one bystander […] called 911 and that an NYPD patrol car responded to the location,” and the defense has “been informed that the NYPD possesses at least one other 911 call from the scene of the altercation.”
But the state is casting doubt on this depiction of events. The D.A.’s filing says an unrelated taxi was pulled over nearby and police were called. “This taxi is not in any way involved with the case,” the filing says. It also alleges there were “no other radio runs, sprint reports or 911 calls from the scene of the incident that night.”
Chaudhry has maintained that there is evidence clearing Majors of any wrongdoing, including surveillance video that shows Jabbari “completely unharmed” after the defendant’s alleged assault. But the new filing counters this assertion, saying the “surveillance video referred to by the defense actually shows Ms. Jabbari visibly upset, crying, and seeking help from strangers to get an Uber cab home.”
Majors’ team has contended that the D.A. is withholding relevant information. However, the filing says the D.A. disclosed “a substantial amount of discovery” that included NYPD memo books, phone records, medical records, signed search warrants and related affidavits for the defendant’s iCloud and phone, surveillance video from eight locations and witness interview notes from nine individuals.”
The Manhattan’s D.A. office declined to comment. Majors’ attorneys also declined to comment.
In the wake of allegations against Majors, the Emmy nominee for HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” was dropped by his PR team at the Lede Company, as well as his management, Entertainment 360. WME still represents the actor. He’s been cut from the feature film “The Man in My Basement” as part of the fallout, though “Magazine Dreams,” a drama about a troubled bodybuilder, is still slated to be released in December. He also has a major role, as the villainous Kang the Conqueror, in the current phase of Disney’s sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From Variety US