As Jonathan Majors promotes his new film Magazine Dreams, he’s breaking his silence on audio that was released of him admitting to strangling his ex-girlfriend.
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Like Diddy, following the leaked footage that corroborates an ex’s accusations of abuse, Jonathan Majors is emphasizing that he’s been on a journey of self-improvement. As previously reported, Rolling Stone released audio of his admission amid his career comeback and after his conviction for assault and harassment of Grace Jabbari.
In an interview with Complex, the Creed III star reflected on the revelation about his admitted “aggression” towards Jabbari and said while he “can’t speak to” the recording or the incident itself, he’s a work in progress.
“I was so grateful that I had done my work, you know? And I’m continuing to do my work,” he said. “Because, I mean, I can’t speak to it. But obviously—because you’re talking about it. There were vibrations, you know? Reverberations. Same as everything before, you know? But I was just—I was happy I’d done my work, you know? I was happy I had done my work,” Majors responded.
Following the misdemeanor assault and harassment convictions, Majors was sentenced to probation and completion of a 52-week domestic violence intervention program.
The audio came amid a now settled civil suit as he allegedly threw her onto the hood of a car, dragged her back inside their home, and banged her “head against the marble floor while strangling her until she felt she could no longer breathe.”
According to Jabbari’s defamation lawsuit, even after the conviction, “Majors has called her a liar at every turn and very specifically claimed that he has never put his hands on a woman.”
Majors has been consistent about minimally addressing the situation and instead, he reflected on Sherri about clinging to God and his love with his new wife, Meagan Good.
“I feel different, and I love the man I am now,” he explained.
Majors wasn’t the only one to take major losses in the fallout of his trial and conviction.
He recently revealed that Good’s public support of Majors lost endorsement deals.
“They weren’t announcing it, but she lost endorsements,” Majors said on The Breakfast Club. “We got uninvited to stuff. She got uninvited to stuff because she had shown just how down she was, and they knew if Meagan’s coming, J’s coming.”
Between the audio leak and the long-delayed release of Magazine Dreams, Jonathan Majors talked about confronting “toxic masculinity” onscreen and offscreen.
See Jonathan Majors’ response to the new controversy amid his career comeback after the flip.
Jonathan Majors Reflects On Parallels Between Himself And His “Toxic” Character In Magazine Dreams
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Weeks after the Sundance premiere of Magazine Dreams sparked awards season buzz for Jonathan Majors, police arrested him for the assault of Grace Jabbari. One of the many subsequent blows to his career was distributor Searchlight Pictures dropping the film. Two years later, his portrayal as aspiring bodybuilder Killian is finally hitting theaters with Majors in a very different spotlight than his days as the next big Marvel star. In an interview with Variety, he reflected on his “rebirth,” public reactions to him and Magazine Dreams, and what he said to Kevin Feige after Marvel fired him.
Majors revealed that the new tattoo on his neck that reads “rebirth” came after his trial. He said it represents what he hopes awaits him in the aftermath, personally and professionally: a blank slate. It’s hard to say whether that’s entirely possible after the newly discovered audio, but that encapsulates his new perspective on starting over.
“When we’re reborn, you’re nothing, you know? You’re empty. You’re only full of potential. Nothing has harmed you yet. Nothing has broken you yet. You go back to learning; it’s all you have. And that’s where I began,” he said.
“It’s all love” for people who no longer want to see his movies, but for Majors, the release itself represents hope. With the hard-fought release of Magazine Dreams in mind, he now sees the story as “a love letter to humanity in many ways. All parts of us. It’s not all good all the time, but goodness is always there and our natural pursuit as human beings. Sometimes, you fall down and make mistakes — as Killian does, and as I’m aware of in my personal life. That’s human and that’s what this story is about.”
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When it comes to interrogating masculinity in the world of bodybuilding, Majors views his character Killian as what happens when loneliness festers.
“There’s nothing wrong with masculinity. The issue becomes when it becomes toxic, and that’s something that has to be looked at and examined,” he said. “For me, and it’s a working theory, the main culprit is loneliness. Anything that’s left alone will fester and eat itself and then devour other things. Loneliness, I understand that.”
He sees the pursuit of “Alpha Male” ideals as dangerously isolating. According to Majors, both he and his character are fighting against that current in society.
“So, as [Killian is] trying to connect there, I’m connecting through family; I’m connecting through not hiding; I’m connecting through being present with myself, being present with my pastor, learning, growing, these types of things,” he continued to Variety.
“Ultimately, he finds a connection. And in my life, in this moment — I’m nowhere close to done — but I understand the value [of connection]. I reconnected to my own heart — not just the part of my heart I use for work or the part of my heart that I use with my child, but the real part, the communal part. That’s the conversation around masculinity now. And positive masculinity engenders a gentleness and understanding of oneself and others, which can derail any conflict or impulsiveness,” Majors said.
Majors also addressed his relationship with Marvel, which dropped him from a multi-film arc as Kang The Conqueror. After hearing the news indirectly, Majors revealed he wrote a letter to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. He reflected warmly on the relationship despite how it ended.
“I just appreciate him. I just love him. I loved my time at Marvel, and I still love Kang. I’m watching them. I see what they’re doing and I’m pulling for them. If they need me, they know where I’m at,” Majors explained.
As Majors works on the upcoming Martin Villeneuve film Merciless, his biggest project is rehabilitating himself as much as his career.
“The work, the industry, art — I love what we do; it’s a huge part of my life, but it’s not my life. I’m trying to be a better me. I say this all the time: growth as an actor and growth as a human being happens simultaneously. My actor outran my human being. I’ve gotta get my human being to catch up. I wonder what the work will look like when they’re equal. That’s what the rebirth will look like. It’ll be balanced. That’s what I’m focused on now,” Majors said.
