Marvel actor Jonathan Majors found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend

Marvel actor Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of two misdemeanour charges over an assault against his former girlfriend.

A New York jury found the Ant-Man: Quantumania actor, 34, guilty of one count of assault and one count of harassment. He was acquitted of two further charges.

Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no reaction, looking slightly downward.

The actor has portrayed the villain Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and Loki projects and was due to be at the core of future Avengers films – but his future in Hollywood has been up in the air amid the charges.

The Creed III actor has already lost other parts and endorsement deals. A drama in which he starred, Magazine Dreams, was pulled from its scheduled release earlier this month.

Prosecutors said Majors, 34, assaulted his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in a hired car in Manhattan in March, leaving her with a broken finger and swollen arm and ear.

Ms Jabbari, a British dancer, 30, accused Majors of an attack inside the vehicle that left her in “excruciating” pain.

She said he hit her in the head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured.

Majors’ lawyers said she was the aggressor, alleging she flew into a jealous rage after reading a text message on his phone sent by another woman.

They said Ms Jabbari had spread a “fantasy” to take down the actor, who was only trying to regain his phone and get away safely.

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Accusing Majors of a “cruel and manipulative pattern” of abuse, prosecutors shared text messages that showed the actor begging Ms Jabbari not to seek hospital treatment for an earlier head injury.

One message warned “it could lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something”.

Over four days of tearful evidence, Ms Jabbari said Majors was excessively controlling and prone to fits of explosive rage that left her afraid “physically quite a lot”.

She broke down in the witness box as a jury watched security footage from the aftermath of the backseat confrontation, which prosecutors said showed Majors “manhandling” her and shoving her back in the car “as if she was a doll”.

Prosecutor Kelli Galaway said Majors was following a well-worn playbook used by abusers to reverse the narrative by casting their victims as attackers.

“This is not a revenge plot to ruin the defendant’s life or his career,” Ms Galaway said. “You were asked why you are here? Because domestic violence is serious.”

Additional reporting by agencies