Actor Jonathan Majors to be sentenced following assault, harassment conviction

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jonathan Majors, who had been a fast-rising Hollywood star before domestic violence charges derailed his career, is expected to be sentenced on Monday after being found guilty of attacking his girlfriend in the back of an SUV.

The sentence will be imposed by Justice Michael Gaffey of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, where Majors was convicted on Dec. 18 of one count each of third-degree assault and second-degree harassment.

Majors faces up to one year in jail. Neither count is a felony. Jurors acquitted him on two other charges, following a two-week trial.

The 34-year-old Majors rose to fame by starring in the 2019 film "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," and later gained plaudits for his work in the blockbusters "Creed III" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

But his legal troubles led to the end of his relationship with Marvel Studios, which parted ways following the conviction.

Majors, who played the villainous Kang the Conqueror in several productions, including "Quantumania," had been expected to return to the role in a 2026 release, "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty."

Walt Disney, meanwhile, removed another star vehicle for Majors, "Magazine Dreams," from its release calendar last October.

The criminal case stemmed from a March 2023 altercation in a hired vehicle that left Grace Jabbari, Majors' girlfriend at the time, with a broken finger and swollen arm and ear.

Jabbari testified that Majors attacked her after she grabbed his phone upon seeing a text from another woman, including by twisting her arm behind her back and striking her in the head.

She also testified that Majors had a "violent temper," and had "exploded" in anger on other occasions.

Like many criminal defendants, Majors did not testify. His lawyer claimed that Jabbari attacked Majors, and falsely accused him of assault after they broke up.

Last week, the judge rejected Majors' bid to throw out the conviction.

"The jury reasonably could have concluded that Defendant recklessly caused physical injury to Ms. Jabbari during this 'rapidly unfolding' struggle over the phone," he wrote.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)