Film

Jonathan Majors charged with assault and harassment after alleged domestic dispute

Unnamed female accuser claimed Creed III actor “put his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain”

Jonathan Majors has been charged with several assault and harassment misdemeanours, Photograph: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/PA

Tue Mar 28 2023 - 12:37

Jonathan Majors has been charged with several assault and harassment misdemeanours, after being accused of assaulting a woman during an alleged “domestic dispute”, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has confirmed.

New York City police said Majors, the star of Creed III as well as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, was arrested on Saturday when police responded to a 911 call inside an apartment in the Chelsea neighbourhood in Manhattan.

Police said a 30-year-old woman sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was taken to a hospital. Majors was released from police custody on Saturday night.

On Monday, the district attorney’s office confirmed the actor had been charged with several counts of assault in the third degree, three counts of attempted assault in the third degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, and one count of harassment in the second degree.

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A judge released Majors on his own recognisance and granted a limited order of protection. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 8th.

In the complaint, the unnamed female accuser claimed the defendant did “strike her about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear” and that he “put his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain”.

“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” the actor’s criminal defense lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement on Sunday after he was arrested. “We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”

Ms Chaudhry has previously alleged that video footage from the vehicle where the alleged incident took place, witness testimony from the driver and onlookers, and two written statements from the woman recanting her allegations were among the evidence being collected.

“The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr Majors was arrested,” Ms Chaudhry said.

A representative for Majors also denied any wrongdoing by the actor. “He has done nothing wrong,” the representative said in an email. “We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”

Majors has long-term plans with Marvel Studios to play Kang, the main villain in the studio’s current phase of films and television, which will lead to him headlining Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, set to be released in 2025.

Ads for the US army featuring Majors were also pulled after his arrest, with the army’s enterprise marketing office saying in a statement it was “deeply concerned by the allegations”.

While Majors “is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete”, they said. — Guardian

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