Jonathan Majors, an African-American actor who is familiar to global audiences for his role as "Kang the Conqueror" in the Marvel movie "Ant-Man 3", has been cut off continuously this week. First, Lionsgate Pictures announced that it would terminate its cooperation with the biopic project of NBA star Dennis Rodman that was being produced, and the company would re-search for a suitable candidate for the starring role. Subsequently, the already completed popular work "Magazine Dreams" was now abandoned by the producer, Searchlight Pictures, and was directly returned to the producers, allowing them to find new interested buyers for distribution.
Already an industry leader among black American actors
"Magazine Dream" is jointly invested by two Los Angeles independent film companies. It tells the inspirational story of an amateur bodybuilder who overcomes his inner demons and overcomes various difficulties. It received rave reviews after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023. It was quickly spotted by Searchlight Pictures, a subsidiary of Disney, and bought the global distribution rights for nearly US$10 million, with plans to release it in 2023. It will be released in December 2020, intending to make a difference during this Oscar awards season.
"Magazine Dream" stills
In order to play this role well, Majors underwent six hours of physical training every day for a year and a half. His performance in the film was also generally recognized by film critics, and some even compared him to Robert Denis. Robert De Niro compared it to Travis played in "Taxi Driver" and praised his performance as extremely layered and full of tension.
At that time, it was also the peak period of the career of this newcomer born in 1989. Not long after the Sundance Film Festival premiere of "Magazine Dreams", he starred in "Ant-Man 3" and "Queen". 3" were released one after another, and the two films monopolized the top spot on the U.S. box office chart for three consecutive weekends, making him the first Hollywood actor to do this in the past ten years. For a time, Majors has been hailed as the best among the new generation of black actors in Hollywood. It seems that it is only a matter of time before he takes over from predecessors such as Denzel Washington and Will Smith.
Jonathan Majors plays Kang the Conqueror in "Ant-Man 3"
A notorious criminal case
Everything came to an abrupt end on March 25, 2023. That night, the New York police received a call from Majors, saying that he found his ex-girlfriend unconscious after returning home and in need of first aid. After the police arrived, they sent the white woman named Grace Jabbari to the hospital. During the investigation and evidence collection, they found that she had broken fingers and some lacerations behind her ears. Majors was soon arrested on charges of assault with violence, a charge he denied, and was free after posting bail.
It is reported that 30-year-old British Grace Jabari is a dancer and choreographer by profession, and has served as an extra in films such as "Barbie". She and Majors met and fell in love on the set of the Marvel movie "Ant-Man 3" and dated for about two years before breaking up on March 25, 2023. That night, she saw an ambiguous text message from a certain woman on her boyfriend's cell phone, and the two immediately had a dispute. During the process of snatching the cell phone, she was injured on her fingers and behind her ear.
After the case was exposed, although Majors always insisted on his innocence, he was still cut off by many advertisers and commercial organizations. In October 2023, just before the case officially began to be heard, Searchlight Pictures also canceled the original schedule of "Magazine Dream".
On December 18, 2023, a jury composed of six New York citizens finally reached a final opinion. Majors did commit the crimes of assault and harassment, but was not found guilty of the charge of third-degree intentional injury and the charge of second-degree aggravated harassment. He was only found guilty of one misdemeanor count of third-degree reckless assault and one count of non-criminal harassment. As for the final punishment, the final sentence will be announced on February 6. According to U.S. law, the crime of third-degree reckless assault carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. However, given the actual circumstances of the case, outsiders estimate that Majors is likely to be sentenced to probation.
As soon as the verdict was announced on December 18, Disney and Marvel Studios immediately announced that they would terminate all contracts with Majors and that Majors would no longer play the role of "Kang the Conqueror". Now, Searchlight Pictures, a subsidiary of Disney, has completely severed all ties with "Magazine Dreams", showing that the Hollywood industry is not optimistic about Majors' restoration of reputation. Although his defense lawyer hinted at the possibility of appealing when the trial results came out, there has been no progress so far. The outside world also generally believes that even if this case is successfully overturned after appeal, the personal image of Majors will be seriously damaged due to the constant exposure of various details of his life, and the gain will not be worth the loss.
During his rise to fame, Jonathan Majors appeared in many fashion magazines
To be fair, the quarrels and even fist fights between the lovers involved in this case are not the worst in nature or the most serious in today's United States or in Hollywood as a whole. Compared with the husband-and-wife quarrel between Depp and Heard, they are only serious. It can be regarded as a small witch compared to a big witch. Moreover, after the fight with Majors that day, Grace Jabari did not go to the hospital. Instead, she went to a nightclub with three passers-by she met for the first time and swiped Majors' credit card. Buying champagne to entertain everyone, and such factual evidence once convinced Majors' attorneys that they would definitely win this important household lawsuit.
In fact, in an interview with American television media on the 8th of this month, Majors still insisted that he was innocent and even became emotional and shed tears. According to his statement, the injuries to his girlfriend’s fingers and behind her ears were definitely not caused by herself. Facing the camera, Majors said that he regretted it very much, but what he regretted was that he failed to give up this "unhealthy" relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend earlier, and regretted that he failed to muster the courage to break up with her earlier.
At the end of the interview, Majors said he still hopes to one day restart his career in Hollywood. Born in California in 1989, his native family was in poor conditions. His father ran away from home very early and has never been heard from. When he was a teenager, he was in and out of the police station for petty theft, and was expelled from high school for getting into fights. But he gained strength from the movie and decided to embark on the path of becoming an actor and change his life. In 2016, he graduated from the Yale School of Drama with a master's degree. Three years later, he rose to fame with the movie "The Last Black Man in San Francisco." He later received nominations for Emmy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was also selected as the 2019 Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Best Newcomer.
Almost a year ago at this time, Majors was driving 29 hours straight from his home in New York City to Park City, Utah, to attend the world premiere of "Magazine Dreams." Today, one year later, his acting work has been completely suspended and he is waiting for the final sentencing result to be released early next month.
Previously, some people in the American legal profession said that Majors and his team made wrong judgments in this case, which ultimately led to the outcome that cannot be ended today. After all, the charges he was involved in were relatively minor. Ordinary people faced with similar situations would most likely plead guilty sincerely in exchange for a lighter punishment, and avoid a public trial in court. However, Majors was probably overconfident and believed that he could win the case and regain his innocence, so he chose the tough route of not pleading guilty and going to court. Unexpectedly, he lost both the lawsuit and the opportunity to keep a low profile.
This case is quite reminiscent of another Hollywood celebrity case that was widely reported by the media last year: the case of Gwyneth Paltrow, the "Pepper Potts" of the Marvel Universe, who was accused of losing control while skiing and causing a fracture. At that time, she was 100% convinced that she was innocent and could definitely win the lawsuit, so she chose not to pay any money and went directly to court to defend herself. In the end, she really convinced all the jurors and the judge, and restored her reputation and innocence. A good fight was won. However, Majors' situation was exactly the opposite. There was obviously a lot of evidence against him, but he still had to hold on to the end. In the end, he could only lose the lawsuit and hurt his popularity.
