Jonathan Majors sentencing in domestic violence case postponed to April

ByMeredith Deliso and Aaron Katersky ABCNews logo
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Actor Jonathan Majors' sentencing has been postponed to April, after his attorneys filed a motion to set aside his conviction, after a jury found him guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend last year.

Majors, 34, appeared virtually before a Manhattan criminal court judge Tuesday wearing a tan crewneck sweater.

"The case will not go forward with sentencing today because the defense has filed a motion to set aside the verdict," Judge Michael Gaffey said.

The Manhattan district attorney's office was given until March 5 to respond to the defense motion to set aside the verdict and his sentencing was reset for April 8.

Majors was convicted of one count of misdemeanor third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment, but acquitted of two other counts of assault and aggravated harassment in a split verdict following a trial in December 2023.

Majors faces up to a year in prison on the two counts.

Majors declined to testify in his defense during the trial. In an exclusive sit-down interview with ABC News Live's Linsey Davis last month, he said he was "shocked and afraid" upon hearing the verdict.

"I'm standing there and the verdict comes down. I say, 'How is that possible based off the evidence, based off the prosecution's evidence, let alone our evidence? How is that possible?" the actor said.

The charges stemmed from a March 2023 altercation with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in a for-hire SUV in New York City.

The mixed verdict signaled the jury believed Majors recklessly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, but did not intentionally do so.

The altercation began in the SUV, after Jabbari saw a text message from another woman on Majors' phone, according to testimony from the trial. Jabbari testified that she tried to grab his phone after seeing a message pop up saying, "I wish I was kissing you."

She described in court Majors pulling her right hand behind her back while holding the phone in her left.

"It just felt like he was twisting my arm and my hand and trying to make me feel pain," she said in court.

Prosecutors said Jabbari fractured her finger and showed jurors photos taken by police of her injuries, including a cut to her ear and a bruised and swollen finger.

Majors denied twisting her arm and causing those injuries in his interview with Davis.

"She went to grab the phone. I held the phone. I pulled the phone back. She came on top of me, squeezed my face, slapped me. That's all I remember," he said.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed Majors inflicted a "manipulative pattern of psychological abuse" and physical abuse on Jabbari that culminated in the incident in the SUV.

The Emmy-nominated actor was arrested in March 2023, after officers responded to a 911 call in Manhattan for an alleged domestic dispute. Majors subsequently filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari and alleged he was the one assaulted.

Jabbari was arrested in October 2023 in New York on multiple charges, though the Manhattan district attorney's office subsequently said it decided not to prosecute her because the case "lacks prosecutorial merit."

In response to Majors' comments to Davis, Jabbari's attorney said the actor "continues to take no accountability for his actions."

"The timing of these new statements demonstrates a clear lack of remorse for the actions for which he was found guilty and should make the sentencing decisions fairly easy for the Court," her attorney, Brittany Henderson, said in a statement to ABC News at the time.

Majors played the role of Kang in several Marvel films and TV shows, including the Disney+ series "Loki," and was set to return to the role in "Avengers: Kang Dynasty," slated for a 2026 release date.

Following the verdict, Marvel dropped Majors from future productions as the Marvel villain.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Marvel.

ABC News' Rachel Wenzlaff contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024 ABC News Internet Ventures.

Related Topics