Jonathan Majors is the most recent actor facing widespread backlash for abuse claims. His meteoric rise of a career, backed by major Hollywood studios and the support of the general public, was knocked down by a domestic abuse claim.
Majors rose in the public eye as a good actor with a remarkable screen presence. His role in major Hollywood productions, such as “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” (2019); “Da 5 Bloods,” (2020); “Loki” (2021); and “Devotion” (2022) that placed his name on the map as a leading actor to watch.
His role in “Loki” particularly impressed viewers and set him up as the next main antagonist in the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is, as of now, the highest grossing film franchise of all time. This exposure was good for Majors’ career, and people were curious to see what would be done with his character, Kang the Conqueror.
Majors also appeared in “Creed III,” starring alongside Michael B. Jordan. The film was commercially successful and grossed over $275 million at the worldwide box office. His performance was again highlighted, and it seemed like Majors was on his way to become one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Twenty-two days later on March 25, 2023, after the release of “Creed III,” his success came to a screeching halt once Majors called 911 after returning to his apartment in New York finding his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, unresponsive. When the police arrived, Majors was arrested and accused of assault, strangulation and harassment. It did not take long for social media to become aware of his arrest and charges. Reactions varied from surprise, anger and disbelief, but Hollywood’s response had the greatest effect on Majors’ career.
In the span of a month, Majors’ career took a drastic turn. Almost immediately after his charges were released to the public, a number of recruiting commercials for the United States Army, promptly announced that these commercials were being suspended. On April 17, 2023, Majors was dropped as a client from Entertainment 360, a management company. He was also dropped by Lede Company, a public relations firm. This was only the beginning before other organizations found it beneficial to cut ties with him.
In April 2020, Majors was fired from starring in the film adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel “The Man in My Basement.” Majors was also set to be an executive producer of the film, but now his role will be recast. He was also removed from the Texas Rangers 2023 season ad campaign. An invitation to the Met Gala was rescinded due to the controversy surrounding Majors. It was stated that this was a mutual decision, but considering that Majors has lost the support of every other agency, it could be that this “decision” was more of “he had no choice.”
Disney was the only company to wait on the news of Majors’ guilty verdict before dropping him. As the case moved on, many people were torn between Majors’ innocence or his guilt. Audio released of Majors yelling at his girlfriend and comparing himself to Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama did not help his case. Injuries were also found on Major’s girlfriend that were very incriminating.
Majors was ultimately found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree, along with a charge of harassment as a violation on Dec. 18, 2023 His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6. After his guilty verdict, Disney officially dropped the hammer on Majors and fired him from his role as Kang the Conqueror. Disney also removed an upcoming film Majors was set to star in called “Magazine Dreams” from its release schedule. The film was going to be released on Dec. 8, 2023 by Searchlight Pictures, a Disney subsidiary.
As time winds down to his sentencing date, a lot of people have reflected on his rise to fame and how quickly it dissipated. It is hard to deny that Majors was on a once and a lifetime ride of momentum as more and more people began getting familiar with his name. He was compared to the likes of Denzel Washington, who is one of the most influential Black actors of his time.
People, in general, have tried to make this an issue of race since his girlfriend was white. Many felt that Majors was always going to be seen as guilty. I feel that this minimizes the issue. Whether or not Majors is Black or white, hurting his girlfriend, intentionally or unintentionally, is not a good look. It is not wrong for companies to fire him if they find this controversy to be damaging to their brand.
It is hard to say whether or not Majors will ever be able to make a comeback. Momentum like the one he had is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it is hard to catch an opportunity like that twice, especially if an actor has a domestic violence charge attached to them. Robert Downey Jr. was also a pariah in the public eye, but it was mostly due to drug use. Also, Downey Jr. was never seriously seen as a movie star until his roles in 2008, such as “Iron Man” and “Tropic Thunder.” From that came one of Hollywood’s greatest comeback and redemption stories that saved his career. Now, Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood and is still seeing success with the release of movies such as “Oppenheimer” in 2023.
Whether or not this will happen for Majors is yet to be seen, but while some people believe that he deserves everything that he has received, others think that it is another case of white people sabotaging Black people. These conflicting opinions might help his case as people struggle to decide whether he is worth supporting or whether he is worth the trouble to support. Either way, only time will tell what the future holds for Majors.