Marvel’s Jonathan Majors arraigned on revised assault charge, attorney calls investigation a ‘witch hunt’


Actor Jonathan Majors was arraigned in court Tuesday on a revised domestic violence charge during a hearing in a New York City courtroom, where he appeared by video.

The brief arrangement lasted only three minutes and the 33-year-old actor did not enter a plea.

He faces a misdemeanor assault charge, which prosecutors rewrote from the perspective of the 30-year-old accuser, who was not named in court papers, to show her cooperation with authorities. The initial charge was written from the perspective of a police officer.

His accuser claims Majors twisted her arm, struck her and shoved her into a vehicle in New York City in March. He was arrested in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood on March 25.

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Jonathan Majors attended an arraignment for a domestic violence charge on May 8, 2023. (Cindy Ord/VF23/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry claims he is innocent and said the woman attacked Majors. She also called the investigation into her client a “witch hunt.”

She also provided “irrefutable evidence that the woman is lying, including video proof showing nothing happened, especially not where she claimed.”

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“Instead of dismissing the allegations in the face of the woman’s clear lies, the DA has adjusted the charges to match the woman’s new lies,” Chaudhry said.

Priya Chaudhry

Attorney Priya Chaudhry, who is representing Jonathan Majors, leaves Manhattan Criminal court on May 9, 2023 in New York City. Majors’ is on trial for an alleged domestic assault of his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.  (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

His attorney also accused police and prosecutors of racial bias against Majors, claiming a white police officer taunted the actor when he attempted to show the injuries he claimed the woman caused.

Majors’ accuser alleges that he twisted her arm, struck her, and pushed her into a vehicle, causing her to fall, according to the revised assault charge. She was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, police said.

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Majors must show up in person at a follow-up hearing on June 13 or face a possible warrant for his arrest, as ordered by Judge Rachel Pauley. Pauley said at that hearing she will decide a motion challenging the case.

Rudd, Majors

Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors both star in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, at BFI IMAX Waterloo on February 16, 2023 in London, England.  (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

The cast of Marvel's Ant-Man film

Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors and Peyton Reed attend the UK Gala Screening of “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” at the BFI IMAX Waterloo on February 16, 2023 in London, England.  (Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage)

In the meantime, Majors must continue to not have any contact with his accuser, Pauley said.

Majors was announced as the central villain in Marvel’s Phase 5 and Phase 6, the compilation of films and episodic series on Disney+ running through 2026. His character, Kang the Conqueror debuted to much fanfare in Marvel’s “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.” The film also starred Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Peyton Reed.

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Majors also played the central antagonist in the box office-topping “Creed III.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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