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Actor Jonathan Majors to be sentenced Monday in domestic violence case

By Aaron Katersky and Meredith Deliso, ABC News Apr 8, 2024 | 6:38 AM
Actor Jonathan Majors leaves the courthouse following closing arguments in Majors’ domestic violence trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on December 15, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Actor Jonathan Majors is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday after a jury found him guilty late last year of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend.

His sentencing had been postponed two months after his attorneys filed a motion to set aside his conviction in February. A Manhattan criminal court judge denied the motion last week, allowing the sentencing to move forward.

Majors, 34, was convicted of one count of misdemeanor third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment, but acquitted of two other counts of assault and aggravated harassment in a split verdict following a trial in December 2023.

The mixed verdict signaled the jury believed Majors recklessly assaulted his ex-girlfriend but did not intentionally do so.

He faces up to a year in jail on the two counts.

The charges stemmed from a March 2023 altercation with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in a for-hire SUV in Manhattan.

Jabbari testified during the trial that she tried to grab his phone after seeing a message pop up saying, “I wish I was kissing you.” She described in court Majors pulling her right hand behind her back while holding the phone in her left.

“It just felt like he was twisting my arm and my hand and trying to make me feel pain,” she said in court.

Prosecutors said Jabbari fractured her finger and showed jurors photos taken by police of her injuries, including a cut to her ear and the bruised and swollen finger.

Majors declined to testify in his defense during the trial. In a sit-down interview with ABC News Live’s Linsey Davis in January, his first after his conviction, he denied twisting her arm and causing those injuries.

“She went to grab the phone. I held the phone. I pulled the phone back. She came on top of me, squeezed my face, slapped me. That’s all I remember,” he said.

Jabbari sued the actor for defamation and other alleged injuries last month, according to the civil complaint.

She is seeking damages for physical injuries she said she suffered as a result of the incident. She also claimed Majors committed “intentional infliction of emotional distress” against her and “made knowingly false statements” about her during the interview with Davis, according to the civil complaint.

Majors’ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement to ABC News following the filing that he is preparing counterclaims against Jabbari.

Majors played the role of Kang in several Marvel films and TV shows, including the Disney+ series Loki, and was set to return to the role in Avengers: Kang Dynasty, slated for a 2026 release date.

Following the verdict, Marvel dropped Majors from future productions as the Marvel villain.

He was nominated for an Emmy for his lead role in the 2020 HBO series Lovecraft Country.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Marvel.

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