NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Jonathan Majors鈥� former girlfriend testified Tuesday that the actor was prone to fits of explosive rage, an escalating pattern that she said ultimately led to her assault in the backseat of a car and his career-halting arrest this past spring.
During hours of tearful testimony, Grace Jabbari traced the downfall of her relationship with Majors, who she described as a 鈥渒ind and loving鈥� partner increasingly unable to control his 鈥渧iolent temper.鈥� She said he hurled household objects at walls and often threatened to take his own life, at times referring to himself as a 鈥渕onster.鈥�
鈥淚t felt like I was walking around on eggshells,鈥� said Jabbari, a 30-year-old professional dancer from the United Kingdom. 鈥淚 had to be perfect.鈥�
The troubled romance came to a head on the evening of March 25th, as the couple were riding back to Manhattan from a dinner already marred by a heated argument over Majors' recent outbursts, she told the jury. During the drive, Jabbari was leaning on his shoulder when he received a 鈥渞omantic鈥� text message sent by a woman named Cleopatra.
After she snatched the phone out of his hands, she said Majors twisted her arm behind her back in a position that left her in 鈥渆xcruciating鈥� pain. 鈥淣ext I felt a really hard blow across my head,鈥� she said, pantomiming the motion of an open hand making contact with the back of her skull.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very strong. I couldn鈥檛 move,鈥� Jabbari continued. 鈥淚t feels very loud when you鈥檙e hit in the head and just shocking.鈥�
Majors eventually pried the phone from her hands and took off through the streets of Lower Manhattan as Jabbari chased him, according to a video compilation taken from various surveillance cameras that was shown to jurors.
The testimony came on the second day of the trial against Majors, a whose portrayal of the comic book supervillain 鈥淜ang the Conqueror鈥� was set to anchor the next phase of the Marvel cinematic universe.
The fate of those films and others starring Majors remains uncertain since his in March for allegedly assaulting Jabbari in the back of the car. An attorney for Majors has maintained that she was the instigator of the confrontation and suggested that race 鈥� Majors is Black; Jabbari is white 鈥� may have factored into his arrest and prosecution.
The actor avoided eye contact with his former girlfriend for much of the day鈥檚 testimony on Tuesday, scribbling notes to his lawyer or thumbing through his gold-leafed Bible as she recounted how he quickly toggled from emotionally sensitive to abusive.
鈥淚t was confusing," she said, 鈥渂ecause I felt scared of him, but quite dependent on him.鈥�
In the summer of 2022, while struggling with a grueling diet and exercise regimen for his role as a bodybuilder in the film 鈥淢agazine Dreams," Majors became 鈥渇ull of rage and aggression" without explanation, Jabbari said.
He lashed out at her, she recalled, throwing objects during one argument that left dents in the walls and sent her ducking for cover in their West Hollywood home.
A few months later, while filming in England, Majors allegedly blew up on Jabbari again after she came home from a bar 鈥渢ipsy鈥� with a friend. In a recording played for the court, Majors can be heard berating his girlfriend for not living up to the standards set by other spouses of famous men, like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama.
鈥淚鈥檓 a great man. A great man!鈥� Majors declared. 鈥淭here needs to be a great woman who makes sacrifices.鈥�
On Tuesday, Jabbari also addressed a series of videos 鈥� likely to be a subject of cross-examination by Majors' lawyers 鈥� that showed her partying in a Manhattan nightclub hours after the alleged assault.
Speaking to jurors, Jabbari said she had met a group of 鈥済enerous鈥� strangers on a corner after chasing Majors out of the vehicle following the attack.
鈥淭he worst thing in my head would鈥檝e been to go back to the empty apartment we shared in that moment,鈥� Jabbari said. Acknowledging that she can be seen on videos smiling, dancing, and taking shots with the new friends, she added: 鈥淚 was having the nicest time I could鈥檝e had within the situation."
Jabbari is expected to return to the stand on Wednesday.
Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press
