Jonathan Majors Arrested and Charged With Assault, Lawyer Says Actor Is “Completely Innocent”
Jonathan Majors was arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors Saturday after being accused of assaulting a woman during a domestic dispute.
The actor was arrested on suspicion of strangulation, assault and harassment Saturday in Chelsea, a neighborhood of Manhattan, according to a New York Police Department spokesperson. The woman sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was taken to a hospital, police said.
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Majors was no longer in police custody by Saturday night and was charged on Sunday by the Manhattan District Attorney with two counts of assault in the third degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree, attempted assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. The judge granted a limited order of protection and that the actor be released on his own recognizance after prosecutors requested supervised release and a full order of protection. Majors first court date was also set for May 8.
“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” the actor’s criminal defense lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement on Sunday. “We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”
Video footage from the vehicle where the incident took place, along with witness testimony and alleged statements from the woman recanting her allegations are among the evidence Majors’ attorney noted are being collected. The statement also alleges the alteration was a result of a mental health incident involving the woman.
“All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever,” Chaudhry added. “The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested.”
THR has reached out to the NYPD for comment on Chaudry’s statement.
A representative for the actor previously told THR, “He has done nothing wrong. We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
Police said they responded to a 911 call at an apartment in Chelsea where a 33-year-old male was involved in a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old female. “The victim informed police she was assaulted. Officers placed the 33-year-old male into custody without incident,” according to the statement, which identified the male as Majors.
Chaudhry on Tuesday said that it was her client who made that call. Her statement reads, in part: “It is Mr. Majors who called 911 due to concern for her mental health.”
According to the district attorney’s complaint, the woman alleges Majors’ struck “her about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear,” grabbed “her hand, causing swelling, bruising, and substantial pain to her finger,” and “put his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain.”
Majors is one of the more in-demand actors working today. He has long-term plans with Marvel Studios to play Kang, the central villain in the studio’s upcoming phase six that will headline Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, dated for May 2, 2025. He recently appeared as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and is rumored to appear in season two of Loki, expected out later this year.
Earlier this week, Searchlight set an awards season-friendly Dec. 8 date for his Sundance drama Magazine Dreams, in which he plays a bodybuilder. His previous credits include the HBO drama Lovecraft Country, Western The Harder They Fall and the Korean War aviation feature Devotion.
Aaron Couch contributed to this story.
March 26, 9:10 a.m. Updated with statement from Jonathan Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry.
March 27, 1:50 p.m. Updated with details around charges from DA complaint.
March 28, 7:30 a.m. Updated to include Chaudhry’s statement on the 911 call.
This story was originally published on March 25 at 5:02 p.m.
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