Martin Luther King once said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” but we doubt he was talking about assault, strangulation, and harassment court cases being held up in court for far too long. That’s the situation Kang actor Jonathan Majors finds himself in, with his court case for his alleged crimes once again being delayed thanks to extenuating circumstances. While the U.S. justice system is hardly a paragon of efficiency (as well as lacking in several other ways), even for the slow-moving scales of justice, this is taking quite some time, especially considering Majors’ high profile and the public interest around the crimes. Although big cases can take a while to get going (there was nearly a year between the murder O.J. Simpson allegedly committed and the beginning of his trial, which lasted many months), the fact this keeps getting postponed does seem a little strange. So, what is going on with Jonathan Majors’ trial? Read below to find out about the many court delays, and why they’re happening.
What are the accusations against Jonathan Majors?
The accusations against Majors are quite shocking. He was initially arrested on March 25 in Chelsea, Manhattan. NYPD officers were responding to a 911 call, and at the time a spokesperson for the force gave a statement saying that an as-then unnamed 30-year-old woman (later reported to be Grace Jabbari, Majors’ then and now former partner) had “sustained minor injuries to her head and neck” and that she was “removed to an area hospital in stable condition.”
Two months later in May, prosecutors filed an updated account of what happened. In this, Jabbari claimed Majors grabbed her finger, twisted her arm behind her back, and hit her across the face with an open hand, which led to her ear being cut open. She also alleged that he pushed her into a vehicle, making her fall. She was granted a full temporary order of protection against the actor in April, which still remains in place.
Since the allegations have come out, some people who have worked with Majors said he is controlling and abusive, whereas others have had nothing but positive things to say. As per Variety, a group of unnamed women also came forward with abuse allegations against the star, which his legal team has dismissed as lies. None of this information is likely to be admissible in court, although there’s no doubt it will have an impact in the court of public opinion.
What has Jonathan Majors’ legal team said in response to the allegations?
Majors and his legal team have come out on the attack, not only claiming Jabbari is lying but also that she was the violent one in the situation. There have been reports that she admitted in a text message to being the aggressor in the situation, and there is video evidence that the day of the alleged incident with Majors, she went out clubbing after it had supposedly happened, casting doubt on the extent of the injuries she is said to have suffered. However, there is also the fact that many others have come forward to say this is a pattern with Majors, too.
On June 21, the actor filed his own domestic violence complaint, claiming that Jabbari had scratched, slapped, and grabbed at his face while “drunk and hysterical.” He said this caused bleeding and pain. The team also suggested that racism was involved in his arrest, with Majors being a Black man and Jabbari a blonde white woman. There were even reports that police officers were harassing him because of his skin color and status.
In response to all of the counter-allegations, one of Jabbari’s lawyers told the NYT that her client had done nothing wrong, adding: “Out of respect for the criminal process and the prosecuting attorneys who will make decisions based on the evidence, we do not intend to respond to rumors.” An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to the paper that no additional arrests had been made, and the investigation was continuing. So, for now, it seems everything is set to play out in court.
When was Jonathan Majors supposed to go to trial?
Majors was first arrested in March and charged with misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, harassment, and strangulation. The strangulation charge was dropped, and he’s pleaded not guilty to the other charges.
In May, he appeared in court via a virtual link. As per the L.A. Times, he only spoke in response to the judge and was given another court date of June 13. He appeared in court in-person in June for the first time, and Judge Rachel S. Pauley gave him an official court date of August 3. This was when the trial was first supposed to begin in earnest.
Majors showed up on August 3, but the trial was once again delayed until September 6. Now, that date has been and gone with no trial, although a hearing has been scheduled for September 15 on which a new trial date will be scheduled.
Why does Jonathan Majors’ trial keep getting delayed?
Majors’ August 3 trial date was postponed, but conflicting reasons have been given. As per THR, the prosecution asked for more time as they were still “obtaining discovery,” which in layman’s terms means they were still going through the evidence. Variety, however, reported that Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry had successfully claimed the prosecution hadn’t turned over evidence in a timely enough manner, submitting far too much into evidence just a day prior to the trial’s start date, and therefore she and her team needed more time to go through it all. Either way, a new trial date was set for September 6.
Majors appeared virtually once again, and the prosecution stated that this time, they were ready for trial, having filed a certificate of compliance. However, Majors’ legal team has claimed there are deficiencies with the certificate, which eventually led to a new date of September 15 being put forward while all of these legal issues are ironed out. This new trial will take place in a different courtroom, and Judge Pauly stated that Majors may attend virtually again.
Chaudhry has repeatedly claimed that she and her team want a speedy trial as the accusations are baseless and have ruined her client’s career.
Will Jonathan Majors still be a part of the MCU?
The short answer is: we don’t really know, but it seems likely he won’t lose his role as Kang as long as he doesn’t get found guilty. For now, it seems that Majors is safe by virtue of Marvel’s relative silence on the accusation and upcoming trial, which may be more due to legal than reputational reasons. We do know for a fact that Majors appeared in the trailer for the second season of Loki on Disney Plus, and it was reported by Deadline that there were “zero conversations in the Marvel camp to drop Majors from the MCU.” So, from that perspective, it’s looking good for the actor in terms of his future career prospects in the MCU, despite being dropped by his agency.
With that said, in June, Marvel announced that they were changing their overall release schedule, and one of these shifts meant pushing back Avengers: The Kang Dynasty by a year, from May 2025 to May 2026. They also added that Avengers: Secret War would be pushed back a year too, from May 2026 to May 2027. As these films were both heavily expected to have Majors play a large role, this could be an indication that Disney and Marvel are hedging their bets on the outcome of the trial. Like with the justice that Majors may or may not face, we have to wait to find out what happens.