Jonathan Majors trial updates: actor’s ex-partner Grace Jabbari testifies and text messages revealed in court

Marvel actor Jonathan Majors’ court trial on three misdemeanour charges of assault and harassment has entered its second week and will resume on Monday December 11. The actor, whose future in the MCU is in doubt pending the outcome of the trial, faces up to one year in prison if convicted.

Majors is accused by his former partner and choreographer Grace Jabbari of assaulting her in an incident on March 25 this year - he denies all the charges.  

As the court case developed, the jury heard testimony from Jabbari and saw text messages between her and Majors which seem to show Majors admitting to assaulting his former partner.

What did Grace Jabbari say in her testimony?

Jabbari, who accuses Majors of assaulting her in March, testified over four days at the Manhattan courtroom. During her testimony she was shown surveillance footage of Majors picking her up and throwing her into a chauffeur driven car, during an incident in which she claims he assaulted her. When the footage was replayed in court Jabbari broke down in tears and fled the courtroom through a side door - she said that watching the footage again would make her sick.

She had testified that Majors attacked her in a car when she found a romantic text from another woman on his phone. 

She also watched footage from an alleged assault in March in which police found her in a closet in Majors’ apartment. Jabbari also told prosecutors that Majors has attempted to dissuade her from getting medical attention for her injuries.

When asked why she didn’t tell doctors the cause of her injuries following the alleged March 2023 incident, Jabbari testified that she was ‘scared of the consequences’, and wanted to protect Majors.

What did the text messages say?

Text messages relating to a separate incident in September 2022 show Majors warning Jabbari not to go to hospital for treatment.

In the messages read to the court, Jabbari says to Majors: “I will tell the doctor I bumped my head. I will not go to the doctor if you don’t feel safe with me doing so.”

Majors texted Jabbari: “It’s just fake. And I fear you have no perspective what could happen if you go the hospital, they will ask you questions….it will lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something.”

What has the defence said?

Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry alleged that Majors was assaulted by Jabbari. Chaudhry also suggested that Jabbari made up the allegations against Majors because she was angry at him for ending their relationship on the night that the alleged assault took place. 

What will happen next in the Jonathan Majors trial?

The trial is expected to last two weeks - the court will reconvene on Monday and the trial is likely to end towards the end of next week. The defence will present their evidence, though it is not yet known if Majors will testify. Then closing arguments will be made and the jury will weigh the evidence and come to a verdict.