Jonathan Majors was found guilty on two out of four misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment he was facing on Monday after a two-week trial. The conviction stemmed from an alleged fight between him and his ex, Grace Jabbari, that spilled over into New York’s Chinatown in March.
During the trial, Jabbari testified that Majors struck her in the head and broke her middle finger. She also testified that he had a pattern of being controlling throughout their relationship. Prosecutors played a damning clip for the jury in which Majors declares himself “a great man,” and compares Jabbari to Coretta Scott King and former First Lady Michelle Obama, saying she needs to “make sacrifices.”
Majors’ lawyers submitted a counter-complaint, alleging that Jabbari was actually the aggressor after seeing a text message from another woman in his phone.
This case had so many layers to it, and though we may never know all the details, one thing is very clear: Majors fed into a culture of abuse by trying to control his partner’s actions.
Though the jury found that he didn’t hurt Jabbari intentionally, intent doesn’t always line up to impact. Exerting control over a partner is abuse. Period. And it’s important to identify signs of that early on and take that seriously.
After Majors — who’s now been dropped as Kang from Marvel’s upcoming films — was arrested, individuals from his past alleged that he was abusive towards previous partners and aggressive with production staff on set.
On this week’s “I Know That’s Right,” I discuss the verdict, “The Color Purple” and “Married to Medicine.” “Found” star Shanola Hampton also joins me to discuss her show and its many twists and turns. Listen here:
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