Jonathan Majors’ Trial May Include Testimony From Exes

Jonathan Majors’ criminal domestic violence trial is set to start on Wednesday, when a judge is expected to determine if the Marvel star’s ex-girlfriends’ testimonies of alleged physical and/or emotional abuse will be unsealed and admitted into court, Rolling Stone has learned.

Majors was arrested in New York in March on misdemeanor charges of assault, attempted assault, and harassment for allegedly hitting and pushing his then-girlfriend into a car during a fight. (Rolling Stone is choosing not to name the woman, as the District Attorney’s Office considers her to be a victim.) Majors has denied the allegations and has claimed the woman attacked him.

As part of the prosecutors’ case, other women’s testimonies about their alleged abusive relationships with Majors have been prepared as Molineux evidence — a legal term that provides a pathway for prosecutors to use prior events to help prove that a defendant’s conduct is “inextricably interwoven with the charged acts.”

Prosecutors noted in a 115-page motion in October that it had alerted Majors’ team about the Molineux application, which “included a list of the defendant’s misconduct and criminal acts that are not charged in the Criminal Complaint but that the People intend to introduce at trial in their case.” (A spokesperson for the DA’s office declined to comment. Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry did not return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.) 

The package is believed to also include prior physical encounters between Majors and the woman at the center of the case. Court documents show prosecutors obtained a police report regarding a September 2022 incident in London that resulted in the woman receiving medical care. Earlier this month, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to Rolling Stone that there is an ongoing investigation into the incident that included allegations of “physical assaults.”

In June, Rolling Stone reported that Majors physically and/or emotionally abused two previous romantic partners, according to a dozen sources who knew the women. Majors allegedly strangled one woman he was dating, and was mentally and emotionally abusive with her, nine of those sources claim. The second woman allegedly told friends that her relationship with Majors was “emotional torture” and there were moments of “near violence,” where he would “get filled with rage” and “hit something or punch a wall.” Variety previously reported that some of Majors’ former romantic partners who were allegedly abused by him were cooperating with the DA’s case. (Majors denied that he was ever abusive in any relationships.)

The bar to allow Molineux evidence into court is extremely high because of its potential prejudicial impact and claims that have often not been prosecuted. However, Molineux evidence was recently allowed into court during Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial in New York. Three women who were not part of prosecutors’ case were allowed to testify about their experiences with the disgraced producer to show a similar pattern of behavior. 

Majors faces up to a year in jail if convicted on the charges, and the future of his career hangs in limbo. The theatrical release of his buzzworthy performance as a lonely bodybuilder who has violent fantasies in Magazine Dreams has been postponed indefinitely and Marvel’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has lost its director, Destin Daniel Cretton. 

It’s been eight months since Majors was arrested on March 25 following a fight over his cell phone after his then-girlfriend allegedly saw the actor receive a text that read along the lines of, “Wish I was kissing you right now.” The two had been traveling in a car together when the woman went to grab the phone, and Majors allegedly twisted her arm and struck her, according to her police complaint. 

Majors exited the car and when his girlfriend tried to follow him, he allegedly grabbed her, picked her up, and threw her back inside. The woman “sustained substantial pain, including a fractured finger, bruising about her body, a laceration behind her right ear, and a bump on her head,” according to prosecutors. Majors was arrested after he returned home the following morning to allegedly find the woman unresponsive and called police. 

Through his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, Majors has vehemently denied the charges. It was Majors who was attacked that night, Chaudhry claimed, further blasting the DA’s case against the actor as a “witch hunt.” Chaudhry has pointed to leaked surveillance footage of the fight’s aftermath as purported evidence of Majors’ innocence. In June, Majors filed his own counter police report against the woman.

However, prosecutors declined to pursue charges against the woman, closing and sealing the case after she voluntarily reported to a police station to receive an appearance ticket. “A thorough investigation was conducted into the facts of this case and, in doing so, the People have chosen to prosecute Jonathan Majors,” the court documents state. 

Jonathan Majors’ criminal domestic violence trial is set to start on Wednesday, when a judge is expected to determine if the Marvel star’s ex-girlfriends’ testimonies of alleged physical and/or emotional abuse will be unsealed and admitted into court, Rolling Stone has learned.

Majors was arrested in New York in March on misdemeanor charges of assault, attempted assault, and harassment for allegedly hitting and pushing his then-girlfriend into a car during a fight. (Rolling Stone is choosing not to name the woman, as the District Attorney’s Office considers her to be a victim.) Majors has denied the allegations and has claimed the woman attacked him.

As part of the prosecutors’ case, other women’s testimonies about their alleged abusive relationships with Majors have been prepared as Molineux evidence — a legal term that provides a pathway for prosecutors to use prior events to help prove that a defendant’s conduct is “inextricably interwoven with the charged acts.”

Prosecutors noted in a 115-page motion in October that it had alerted Majors’ team about the Molineux application, which “included a list of the defendant’s misconduct and criminal acts that are not charged in the Criminal Complaint but that the People intend to introduce at trial in their case.” (A spokesperson for the DA’s office declined to comment. Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry did not return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.) 

The package is believed to also include prior physical encounters between Majors and the woman at the center of the case. Court documents show prosecutors obtained a police report regarding a September 2022 incident in London that resulted in the woman receiving medical care. Earlier this month, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to Rolling Stone that there is an ongoing investigation into the incident that included allegations of “physical assaults.”

In June, Rolling Stone reported that Majors physically and/or emotionally abused two previous romantic partners, according to a dozen sources who knew the women. Majors allegedly strangled one woman he was dating, and was mentally and emotionally abusive with her, nine of those sources claim. The second woman allegedly told friends that her relationship with Majors was “emotional torture” and there were moments of “near violence,” where he would “get filled with rage” and “hit something or punch a wall.” Variety previously reported that some of Majors’ former romantic partners who were allegedly abused by him were cooperating with the DA’s case. (Majors denied that he was ever abusive in any relationships.)

The bar to allow Molineux evidence into court is extremely high because of its potential prejudicial impact and claims that have often not been prosecuted. However, Molineux evidence was recently allowed into court during Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial in New York. Three women who were not part of prosecutors’ case were allowed to testify about their experiences with the disgraced producer to show a similar pattern of behavior. 

Majors faces up to a year in jail if convicted on the charges, and the future of his career hangs in limbo. The theatrical release of his buzzworthy performance as a lonely bodybuilder who has violent fantasies in Magazine Dreams has been postponed indefinitely and Marvel’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has lost its director, Destin Daniel Cretton. 

It’s been eight months since Majors was arrested on March 25 following a fight over his cell phone after his then-girlfriend allegedly saw the actor receive a text that read along the lines of, “Wish I was kissing you right now.” The two had been traveling in a car together when the woman went to grab the phone, and Majors allegedly twisted her arm and struck her, according to her police complaint. 

Majors exited the car and when his girlfriend tried to follow him, he allegedly grabbed her, picked her up, and threw her back inside. The woman “sustained substantial pain, including a fractured finger, bruising about her body, a laceration behind her right ear, and a bump on her head,” according to prosecutors. Majors was arrested after he returned home the following morning to allegedly find the woman unresponsive and called police. 

Through his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, Majors has vehemently denied the charges. It was Majors who was attacked that night, Chaudhry claimed, further blasting the DA’s case against the actor as a “witch hunt.” Chaudhry has pointed to leaked surveillance footage of the fight’s aftermath as purported evidence of Majors’ innocence. In June, Majors filed his own counter police report against the woman.

However, prosecutors declined to pursue charges against the woman, closing and sealing the case after she voluntarily reported to a police station to receive an appearance ticket. “A thorough investigation was conducted into the facts of this case and, in doing so, the People have chosen to prosecute Jonathan Majors,” the court documents state.