Jonathan Majors was "shocked and afraid" when he was found guilty of reckless assault

In 2023, actor Jonathan Majors had a spectacular fall from grace. At the beginning of the year, he played villain Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was intended to launch his character as a main villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. Then he was arrested after a March 25 altercation with ex-partner Grace Jabbari, whom he met on the set of the movie. In December, Majors was found guilty of harassment and of reckless assault in the third degree. He was found not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree and of intentional assault in the third degree. Marvel Studios and Disney cut ties with him shortly after.

Today, he gave an interview to ABC News, where he remembered what he was thinking when the verdict came down. "I say, ‘How is that possible based off the evidence, based off the prosecution’s evidence, let alone our evidence? How is that possible?'”

Majors admitted that he wasn't "the best boyfriend all the time," but said that he had “never hit a woman.” He did say that his relationship with Jabbari was unhealthy. “I was reckless with her heart, not with her body,” he told ABC News. As for how Jabbari got her injuries, which included a fractured finger and cut behind her ear, he claimed not to know. “I wish to god I knew. That would give clarity. That would give me some type of peace about it."

In a statement to ABC, Jabbari's attorney Brittany Henderson said that he “continues to take no accountability for his actions.”

"His denigration of our jury system is not dissimilar from the above-the-law attitude that he has maintained throughout this legal process … The timing of these new statements demonstrates a clear lack of remorse for the actions for which he was found guilty and should make the sentencing decisions fairly easy for the court."

Colman Domingo responds to rumors he's replacing Jonathan Majors as Kang

Majors will be sentenced on February 6 and could face up to a year behind bars, although according to Deadline he's predicted to avoid a jail sentence. For his part, Majors hopes to eventually return to acting, saying he thinks he deserves a second chance. "I hope other people think that."

Right now it's hard to see that happening. Majors is out at Marvel, and rumors have been swirling that he may be replaced as Kang by actor Colman Domingo, who has garnered acclaim for his work in movies and TV shows like The Color Purple and Fear the Walking Dead. Speaking to ET, Domingo said he's aware of the rumors but didn't weigh in directly on their veracity. "I don't know, I'm always looking at what I have to do right now," he said. "I know there's talk and conversations around, and I don't know how much is true."

"
The fans are passionate. Somehow my name is out there in the world [and] I like the idea of just having your name called and someone speaking lovingly and kindly about something is a beautiful thing."

I know this is the kind of situation where pretty much anything he says will be interpreted as a tacit admission that the rumors are true, but I can't help but note that he could have said "They're just rumors and I know nothing" but didn't.

We'll see how Disney plugs the Kang hole as the year progresses.

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