Jonathan Majors trial: Prosecution alleges emotional abuse, defense alleges revenge

The trial of Jonathan Majors, concerning alleged domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari, commenced in earnest on Monday as both sides offered opening arguments. Statements from the prosecution and defense highlighted the typically he-said, she-said nature of high-profile domestic violence cases we’ve seen in the past. The case centers around the events of a car ride on March 25, in which Jabbari suspected Majors of infidelity after seeing a text message on his screen and went to grab his phone. The incident, of course, was characterized very differently by the prosecution and defense.

Before getting to March 25, the prosecution emphasized that Majors engaged in a pattern of emotional abuse in the couple’s two-year relationship. “He began to snap at, manipulate and strategically withhold affection from [Jabbari],” going as far as threatening suicide to “control her actions,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Perez alleged (per Variety). In one example, which occurred in September 2022, Jabbari brought a friend back to their shared apartment after going out for drinks, which caused Majors to become angry and aggressive. Later, Jabbari reportedly took a recording of Majors ranting that she “needs to live up to standards of Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama” and saying “I am a great man” (via The Hollywood Reporter). Perez argued that this pattern in their relationship affected the incident on March 25; meanwhile, Majors’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry argued that their prior relationship history had “nothing to do with what happened in the car” (per Variety).

Perez told jurors that when Jabbari reached for Majors’ phone on March 25, he reacted in violence: “He intended to cause Grace Jabbari physical injury and, in fact, he did cause her physical injury.” Chaudhry has long maintained that Jabbari was the aggressor of the incident, and asserted to the jury that she assaulted Majors and tore his jacket “with her bare hands.” The prosecution argues that when Jabbari tried to leave the car, Majors threw her back in “like a football”; the defense says he “scooped her up and put her back in the car” out of concern for her safety (via THR). When the couple did part ways that night, Jabbari met three strangers who invited her to a club. Perez says she agreed to go in order to “block out the experience,” while Chaudhry says she left the car uninjured and spent the night “talking, texting, drinking, dancing, partying.”

Majors went to a hotel room, where he reportedly texted Jabbari that their relationship was over. Jabbari eventually returned to their shared apartment, attempted to call Majors multiple times, and then took two sleeping pills. Majors returned in the morning, allegedly found Jabbari laying on the floor in a closet, and called 911. When police arrived and questioned her about her injuries, Perez claims she was hesitant to tell them about the altercation in the car with Majors because the actor had “manipulated her and trained her to stay silent.” Chaudhry claims that Jabbari was “confused and nearly unintelligible” when questioned and repeatedly said she didn’t know where she got the injuries before agreeing with the police that Majors had caused them.

“Mr. Majors’ lifetime of hard work was coming to fruition and his career seemed unstoppable until […] he ended his relationship with Jabbari and she made these false allegations. … [This is] a man who spent 30 years working hard to get to where he was on March 25. A man with the world at his fingertips,” Chaudhry said of her client (per Variety). Professing him to be “a father, a poet, a devoted, practicing Christian and an actor,” Chaudhry said that Jabbari made false allegations “in revenge” as a way “to ruin Jonathan Majors and to take away everything he had spent his whole life working for” (via THR).

“This is a case about the end of a relationship, not about a crime—at least not one that Mr. Majors committed. This man is innocent,” Chaudhry claimed (via Deadline). Majors faces charges of assault (multiple counts of which were consolidated into one count on Monday, as agreed upon by both sides) and aggravated harassment. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.