Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend is suing the embattled actor for defamation, accusing him of portraying her as a “crazy liar” as he battled assault charges.
Majors, 34, was convicted in December of misdemeanor third-degree assault and second-degree harassment in connection with a March 25 confrontation with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
Jabbari states in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court that since the arrest, “Majors has called her a liar at every turn and very specifically claimed that he has never put his hands on a woman, with the goal of convincing the world that Grace is not a victim of domestic abuse but instead a crazy liar who should be treated as such.”
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The lawsuit also accuses Majors of subjecting Jabbari to a “pattern of pervasive domestic abuse” during their two-year relationship.
“Put bluntly, Majors’ defense to Grace’s descriptions of the numerous acts of violence Majors perpetrated against her was to brazenly defame her and label her a liar on all claims,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, which demands a jury trial, accuses Majors of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, malicious prosecution, and defamation.
Majors’ lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, told The Daily Beast that Jabbari’s lawsuit “is no surprise.” “Mr. Majors is preparing counterclaims against Ms. Jabbari,” she added.
“It takes true bravery to hold someone with this level of power and acclaim accountable,” Jabbari’s lawyer, Brittany Henderson, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Bravery that Grace Jabbari has demonstrated at every stage of the legal process. We strongly believe that through this action, truth and transparency will bring Grace the justice that she deserves.”
During Majors’ trial in Manhattan criminal court, Jabbari testified about several instances of emotional and physical abuse she endured while dating Majors. The lawsuit also details the abuse, including one September 2022 incident in which Majors allegedly threw her against the hood of her car and put her in a headlock as he covered her mouth while she shouted for help.
“He brought Grace back into their house and held his hands around her neck, stating that he wanted to kill her, and that he was going to kill her,” the lawsuit alleges. “Majors then started hitting Grace’s head against the marble floor while strangling her until she felt she could no longer breathe.”
The lawsuit says that after the assault, Majors asked Jabbari to keep the incident a secret and expressed concerns about his career. “I fear you have no perspective of what could happen if you go to the hospital," he allegedly texted. “They will ask you questions and as I don’t think you can actually protect us it could lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something.”
The lawsuit alleges that Majors also threatened suicide at least once and that Jabbari lived in “constant fear of Majors, who demonstrated time and time against that there was no way to deter his violent and intentional conduct.”
The alleged abuse culminated in the March incident that began as the couple was headed home from a night out in Brooklyn.
Jabbari testified that the altercation began after she tried to take Majors’ phone from him to read a conversation he was having with a woman named “Cleopatra.” She said she had seen Majors text a link to the 1995 D’Angelo song, “Lady,” and in response, “Cleopatra” said, “Oh, how I wish to be kissing you.”
Jabbari suffered injuries to her ear and finger in the incident that led to Majors’ arrest—a hit to his meteoric rise in Hollywood. After his arrest, Majors’ management, PR team, and Marvel Studios parted ways with the actor.
The lawsuit states that “Majors immediately implemented an extensive media campaign smearing Grace, claiming that he was ‘completely innocent,’ ‘is provably the victim,’ that he ‘did not assault her whatsoever,’ and that ‘this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital.’” Then, Majors filed his own criminal complaint against Jabbari, claiming she was the true abuser that night. (The DA has previously declined to prosecute a case against Jabbari.)
During the trial, the lawsuit alleges that the actor’s defense team painted her as a liar, an argument the jury ultimately did not agree with, as they found Majors guilty. In an ABC interview after his conviction, Majors claimed that while he had been reckless” with Jabbari’s heart, he had “never laid [his] hands on a woman.’”
“Majors made defamatory statements about Grace, both before and after his criminal trial, intending for his celebrity, wide social media following, and the public interest in his arrest to cause the public to accept his statements as fact and believe Grace was lying,” the lawsuit states. “Majors’ intention was not only to cause many people to believe Jabbari was a liar but also to cause those people to lash out, harass, intimidate, and bully Jabbari. Majors also intended his defamatory statements to adversely affect Jabbari’s career.”
