Anthony Mackie becomes first Avenger to publicly weigh in on Jonathan Majors controversy

Marvel reportedly changed all its plans to build the franchise’s next phase around Jonathan Majors’ villain Kang the Conqueror, but the studio has remained conspicuously mum amid the actor’s legal troubles. Since Majors was initially charged with domestic violence, multiple women have reportedly come forward to share similar stories with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. But when it comes to the fate of the MCU, new Captain America Anthony Mackie urges fans not to rush to judgment.

Asked by Inverse about Kang’s future, Mackie insisted, “We’re a country that was built on ‘everyone is innocent until proven guilty.’ That’s one of the staples of this country. Nothing has been proven about this dude. Nothing. So everyone is innocent until proven guilty. That’s all I can say. It’s crazy where we are as a society. But as a country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”

There’s something a little bit icky about Mackie, one of the franchise’s first and most prominent Black heroes, having to bear the responsibility of commenting on an issue concerning an actor he hasn’t even worked with (yet, at least, assuming they both still end up in Avengers: Kang Dynasty). That said, he could have toed the party line and declined to comment, and now instead has become the first major Marvel employee to weigh in on the situation.

Meanwhile, the PR machine is out in full force for Majors, who reportedly filed a domestic violence complaint against his accuser last week. In the complaint, obtained by Insider, Majors alleged that his ex-girlfriend was the one who actually became physically violent during their argument (scratching his face and leaving bloody cuts), as well as accusing her of previous assaults such as a “verbal dispute in London that became physical.” Majors’ lawyer claims police found probable cause to arrest his ex, but Manhattan prosecutors “for some reason” declined to pursue the issue, per Insider.

Perhaps they declined to pursue because they have multiple other victims on the record to corroborate Majors’ abusive behavior; perhaps they declined because Majors’ response reads like a textbook case of DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim and offender). In any case, his accuser has the same assumption of innocence until proven guilty. Majors, for one, will get his day in court on August 3.