Jonathan Majors accuser recounts relationship in testimony: "I felt scared of him but quite dependent on him"

The trial of Jonathan Majors, facing charges of assault and aggravated harassment in an alleged domestic violence incident, continued on Tuesday with testimony from his accuser, ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. An emotional Jabbari presented a timeline of their relationship up to the point of the March 25 incident, elaborating on the emotional abuse and manipulation referenced in the prosecution’s opening arguments. The pair met on the set of Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania in August 2021, while Jabbari was working as a movement coach and Majors starred as the villain Kang the Conqueror.

After their first date, they rarely spent time apart, Jabbari said (via Variety): “He was really kind and loving. He told me he loved me very early on, which was overwhelming, but I loved it. And I loved him. He wrote me poetry. I felt very loved and cared for and seen.”

However, as early as 2021 he had verbally berated her for bringing up an ex-boyfriend. She shared of an incident in July 2022 when the actor, preparing for his role as a bodybuilder in Magazine Dreams, flew into a “rage,” shouting and throwing glass. She took a picture of the broken glass at the time (which was shown to the jury, according to Rolling Stone), because “the shift in his temper was something I was aware of. I know I kept forgiving him, and I wanted to make a memory of [the incident].”

Jabbari further described Majors’ aggression when she went to the Glastonbury Festival with friends and lost service, and when she brought a friend home after drinking at a pub. In both instances, Jabbari says she was made to feel like she was at fault (he “rarely said sorry” for these episodes, she claimed) and felt she had to manage his moods. In the latter instance, Jabbari recorded some of his ranting, in which he demanded she be more like Michelle Obama or Coretta Scott King. The audio, referenced in the prosecution’s opening arguments, was played for the jury (per Variety and Vulture). “I’m a great man. A great man. I do great things for my culture and for the world. … The woman that supports me needs to be a great woman,” he can be heard saying, insisting that Jabbari’s behavior “took away from the plan, and the plan is evident.”

“I felt like I had to keep a lot of secrets from everyone. I felt very isolated. It was confusing. I felt scared of him but quite dependent on him,” Jabbari testified, saying she had promised Majors she wouldn’t tell anyone about his rageful episodes and stayed in the relationship because she loved him. “He said that he was a monster and wanted to kill himself and had actions in place to do so,” Jabbari revealed, corroborated by text messages shown to the jury (according to Rolling Stone). “I pleaded with him [so that] he wouldn’t do that. He would say, ‘It’s in place. It’s in motion.’ I’d say, ‘You can’t do that. What about your mother? What about your daughter?’” she said (via Variety). “I would intend to make him feel safe and loved and secure. And he would receive that.”

“I felt I was existing in his world,” Jabbari admitted. “Emotionally and physically, all these ways. I didn’t feel my autonomy. I had low self-esteem, I lost weight, I felt unconfident. I felt really dependent on him. He was the only one who knew what went on. I found it hard to [see my family and friends]. I felt I was lying to them.”