Details of the arrest and arraignment
The 33-year-old Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania actor, who’s seen as a rising star in Hollywood, was arrested Saturday in New York City on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment. It stemmed from a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. A 911 call was placed from an apartment.
“The victim informed police she was assaulted,” a spokesperson for the NYPD said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Officers placed the 33-year-old male into custody without incident. The victim sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition.” Majors’s relationship with the unidentified woman was described only as “domestic.”
The California native was arraigned on a complaint that included misdemeanor charges for assault and aggravated harassment, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told the outlet. In the complaint, the accuser claimed the defendant did “strike her about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear.” She also accused him of putting “his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain.” The judge granted a limited order of protection. Majors was released on his own recognizance.
Majors’s lawyer says he’s “entirely innocent”
A spokesperson for Majors said in a statement to the AP on Saturday, “He has done nothing wrong. We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
The following day, his attorney Priya Chaudhry from Chaudhry Law doubled down on his innocence, saying in a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter that there is evidence he’s “entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever. We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”
Chaudhry, who also represents Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s Jen Shah, blamed the incident on the woman having “an emotional crisis,” according to the AP. She claimed there’s evidence clearing Majors that includes “video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations.”
Chaudhry has not yet responded to Yahoo’s request for comment.
The fallout
The day after his arrest, the U.S. Army pulled its TV ad campaign featuring Majors. The goal of the campaign was to revive Army recruitment numbers.
“The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest,” Army Enterprise Marketing Office public affairs chief Laura DeFrancisco said in a statement. “While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”
This could have wider ramifications for Majors, who’s one of Hollywood’s “It” actors at this moment. He first drew drew attention appearing in The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) followed by Da 5 Bloods (2020), HBO hit series Lovecraft Country, which landed him an Emmy nomination in 2021, and Netflix’s western The Harder They Fall (2021).
He’s been busy, with starring roles in mega-successful Creed III, which came out March 3, and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which was released on Feb. 17. He also stars in Magazine Dreams, which made a big debut at the Sundance Film Festival and was sold to Searchlight Pictures with a Dec. 8 release.
Depending on the outcome of the case, it could impact his plans with Marvel Studios. Majors’s role as Kang the Conqueror, variations of which he has played in the third Ant-Man movie as well as Loki (2021), is slated to be the primary antagonist facing off against the multiverse’s mightiest heroes in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, slated for 2025.
Marvel has yet to issue any statements on the arrest. However, Marvel has been known to recast major characters, if necessary. Parent company Disney has also fired franchise stars and filmmakers for PR reasons.
What’s next?
Majors is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.
Source : Yahoo
