Jonathan Majors' text messages, audio recordings to ex-girlfriend unsealed in assault trial
Evidence presented in Jonathan Majors' domestic violence case, which was previously only shown to the six-person jury, has now been unsealed by the presiding judge and released to the public.
On Wednesday, Judge Michael Gaffey allowed more evidence to be publicly released in the case about an allegedly violent confrontation in the backseat of a car between Majors, 34, and former girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
Newly unsealed evidence obtained by USA TODAY provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office included text messages between the two; voice recordings of Majors criticizing Jabbari; photos of Jabbari's injuries; a recording of Majors' 911 call and surveillance video of Majors getting Jabbari back into a car.
Jabbari and Majors met in 2021 while filming "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" in London and broke up on the night of the alleged assault this spring.
The "Creed III" star's trial is in its second week as prosecutors and his defense counsel present evidence in the case. The defense closed their case Wednesday without Majors taking the stand. Both sides will present their closing arguments on Thursday, per People.
Surveillance footage shows scuffle between Jonathan Majors and Grace Jabbari
In March, Majors was arrested over a confrontation with Jabbari, who is a British dancer and movement coach, during a car ride in Manhattan.
According to prosecutors, she had grabbed a phone out of the actor's hand after seeing a text, presumably from another woman, saying "Wish I was kissing you right now." Majors tried to snatch the phone back, Jabbari previously testified.
She claimed Majors pulled her finger, twisted her arm behind her back and hit her head. The released photos of Jabbari's injuries show her bruised middle finger and a gash behind her ear.
After the couple's driver stopped the car and the pair got out, Jabbari says Majors threw her back into the vehicle. The prosecution has said footage of the incident shows Majors "repeatedly pushing (Jabbari) back into the vehicle with all of his force," according to Variety.
In a surveillance video, Majors is shown picking Jabbari up after she gets out of the backseat and placing her back in the vehicle. After she leaves the car again, the two head to the sidewalk, where they get into a short scuffle. Jabbari then chases after Majors.
Majors' attorneys have claimed that Jabbari was the aggressor in the incident. The hired driver, Naveed Sarwar, testified earlier this week that Majors was "not doing anything" and Jabbari "was doing everything," according to reports from People and Variety.
According to Sarwar, Majors was telling Jabbari to "Leave me alone; I have to go.'"
Jonathan Majors criticizes Grace Jabbari for going out in audio recording
In a recording of a September 2022 conversation between Jabbari and Majors, the actor can be heard criticizing her for returning "home drunk" after a night out and for not supporting him enough, according to a transcript.
"Grace (Jabbari) has to be in a certain mindset to support — Coretta Scott King, do you know who that is? That's Martin Luther King's wife. Michelle Obama, Barack Obama’s wife," Majors says. "I'm a great man. A great man. I am doing great things, not just for me but for my culture and for the world. That is actually the position I’m in."
"I shouldn’t have gone out. I’m sorry," Jabbari responds.
He later continues, "The woman that supports me — that I support — needs to be a great woman and make sacrifices the way that man is making for her and for them ultimately. Last night, two nights ago, you did not do that."
Jonathan Majors' ex Grace Jabbari testified on actor's 'violent temper'
Jabbari first took to the stand Dec. 5 on the second day of Majors' trial for hours of tearful testimony against her former boyfriend. In her testimony, Jabbari described Majors as a controlling, manipulative partner who hurled household objects at the wall, tried to control her socially and repeatedly threatened to take his own life in the aftermath of their fights.
"It felt like I was walking around on eggshells," Jabbari said. "I had to be perfect."
Majors avoided eye contact with Jabbari during the testimony, instead scribbling notes to his lawyer or thumbing through his gold-leafed Bible as she recounted his struggle to contain his "violent temper."
On her second day on the witness stand, Jabbari wiped away tears as she recounted the alleged attack by Majors in the backseat of a cab that left her hair caked with blood, her ear swollen and middle finger "more or less black."
"When I was trying to sleep, I was very aware that I couldn’t lie on the right side of my head," she said. "It was an everything hurts situation."
Contributing: Jake Offenhartz, Associated Press
Latest in the trial: Photos, recordings in alleged assault of ex Grace Jabbari unsealed
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Majors' assault trial: What video, audio evidence reveal
