Actor Jonathan Majors is set to appear in Manhattan criminal court on Friday for his ongoing domestic dispute case. But all the internet can talk about right now is whether Creed III's star staged a fight between two high school girls outside of a Los Angeles In-N-Out.
“The Jonathan Majors clip might be the worst PR stunt of the century,” one Twitter user wrote on Thursday. “You see Jonathan Majors break up that fight? Shit was so staged!” another user added. Other meme reactions alluded to Nathan for You, a recent I Think You Should Leave sketch and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video.
The allegations of another Majors’ PR spin come after TMZ released video of the Monday dispute between two girls outside the burger chain near Hollywood High School while other people were watching.
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In a video, the girls can be seen beating each other to the ground near a car before Majors runs over to the scene and breaks up the altercation. Wearing a flat cap, Majors puts himself in between the girls and puts his arms out as they continue to try to fight each other. He is seen talking to the girls, but it is not immediately clear what the actor said.
“Hashtag first high school fighting experience,” someone off camera states just before the girls are seen trying to hit each other again while Majors is still in the middle. In another video obtained by TMZ, Majors explained that he did not know the individuals involved in the “schoolyard fight,” and he just wanted to make sure no one got hurt.
“School fight. I saw it, that’s all,” he said, before later telling those involved in the tussle to “stay cool; it ain’t worth it.”
The internet, however, is not convinced that Majors happened to be at the California burger joint at the right time—especially since it comes just one day before his latest court appearance. The Manhattan criminal trial was set to begin last Wednesday but was pushed back at the last minute after Majors’ attorneys said they found “deficiencies” in discovery and needed a hearing to address the issue.
“The PR team are geniuses for making the first search results for ‘Jonathan Majors beat up girl’ to be a video of Majors interfering [sic] two girls beating each other up,” a Twitter user added.
Majors’ defense attorney and the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 33-year-old actor is facing several misdemeanor assault and harassment charges in connection with the March 25 domestic dispute in New York. Prosecutors allege that during the incident, which began around 12:40 am in downtown Manhattan, Majors “stuck, shoved,” and kicked the 30-year-old woman and caused an injury to a finger.
In a criminal complaint, the woman alleges that Majors grabbed her arm and placed it behind her body before he used his right hand to twist the arm and finger. Majors then allegedly hit her across the right arm and pushed her into a car.
The actor’s legal team has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in a case they have called a “witch hunt against Jonathan Majors, driven by baseless claims.” He faces up to a year in jail.
Since his arrest, the Lovecraft Country actor's career briefly went into free fall after his management and PR firm fired him, as well as a number of upcoming campaigns and productions. Majors is set to star in Loki Season 2 on Disney+ next month.
