The ex-girlfriend accusing Jonathan Majors of assault and harassment took the stand Tuesday, telling a Manhattan jury that the Marvel actor frequently blew up at her, threw objects and repeatedly told her that he would kill himself. He did so as a means to control and manipulate the professional dancer whom he dated for two years, she said.
Grace Jabbari was the first live witness to testify, a day after opening statements. On Monday, prosecutors sought to paint Majors as a serial abuser and manipulator, while his defense attorney said Jabbari lost control and attacked him the night of March 25 upon discovering that he had been unfaithful.
“He said he was a monster and he wanted to kill himself and he put actions in place to do so,” Jabbari said, according to the Associated Press. The 30-year-old British woman said she was “walking around on eggshells” with Majors for months, adding, “I had to be perfect.”
Prosecutors showed photos of walls dented by thrown candlesticks and bits of broken glass littering the floor. Jabbari also described a later incident in which he allegedly blew up at her after she came home “tipsy” from a night out with a friend. The jury of three men and three women heard a recording from that night, in which Majors is yelling at her for straying from “the plan” and telling her to be more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama.
“I’m a great man. A great man!” Majors was heard saying. “There needs to be a great woman who makes sacrifices.”
Jabbari did not describe any physical abuse prior to the March 25 altercation, the reason for which was not in dispute: The couple ended the two-year relationship that night after Jabbari, saw a text message on his phone from another woman which read, “Wish I was kissing you right now.”
“This is a case about the end of a relationship, not about a crime, at least not one that Mr. Majors committed,” his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told the jury Monday.
According to the police report, after the two fought both inside and outside their chauffered Cadillac Escalade in Chinatown, he checked into a hotel while she went out partying with three strangers she’d met on the street. The following morning, Majors found Jabbari in the closet of his Chelsea apartment – and called police out of concern for her wellbeing, an encounter which resulted in his arrest.
Jabbari testified that Majors first became full of “rage and aggression” during the July 2022 filming for the Sundance-award winning drama “Magazine Dreams,” the release of which has now been put on hold. She said he was struggling with a grueling dieting and training regimen for the part as a bodybuilder when he began hurling objects at her in their West Hollywood home as she ducked for cover.
She said he also begged her not to tell anyone about his outbursts and threatened to kill himself if she didn’t do what he asked.
Majors faces up to a year in jail if convicted on four counts including misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment and harassment. The trial could last up to two weeks.
