Opening statements for Jonathan Majors’ trial on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges began Monday with the Marvel star’s attorneys alleging his former partner made false allegations to “hurt him at the height of his career,” while prosecutors allege a pattern of psychological abuse culminating in the incident. 

The charges stem from an alleged domestic violence incident on March 25, 2023. Police responded to a 911 call and a 30-year-old woman reported being assaulted by Majors, with police noting that she had sustained minor injuries. She was treated at the hospital, according to the police, and Majors was released from police custody later that day. (He was the one who’d called 911 because he was concerned about her mental wellbeing, according to his attorney.)

He faces four remaining charges of misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment and harassment. Four of the previous eight charges were dismissed and merged into one count of assault ahead of opening statements Monday due to the nature of the injuries. His attorney, Priya Chaudhry, has denied all wrongdoing on his behalf and he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

In opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Michael Perez alleged a pattern of behavior by Majors against the woman, who has since been identified as his then-romantic partner, Grace Jabbari, saying that he committed domestic violence against her on March 25, but had “engaged in a cool and manipulative pattern” of psychological abuse leading up the incident. The two met on the set of Ant-Man in 2021, Perez said, and had a honeymoon period before the “defendant’s true self emerged,” he alleged. This included snapping at her, controlling and manipulating her, withholding affection and threatening suicide to “control her actions,” he alleged. 

In one of those instances, in September 2022, Perez alleged that Jabbari went out to drinks with a friend and then took her back to their shared home, which angered Majors, who threw belongings and yelled. Jabbari later recorded Majors saying things to her which included that she “needs to live up to standards of Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama” and “I am a great man.”

According to Perez, the March 25 incident began after midnight when Majors and Jabbari were in the car home from dinner in Brooklyn and she observed a text message on Majors’ phone stating, “Wish I was kissing you right now” from a woman named Cleopatra. Jabbari allegedly grabbed the phone and Majors then pried her finger from the phone. The complaint says he then grabbed her arm and right hand, twisted her forearm and then struck her right ear. When she tried to leave the car, he allegedly picked her up and threw her back inside “like a football,” Perez said.

Perez says that Jabbari then ran into three strangers on the street and began talking to them before re-entering the car with Majors and grabbing his coat to stop him from leaving. Majors left and made arrangements to stay at a hotel, while Jabbari was invited to go to a club with the three strangers, which Perez says she did to “block out the experience.” While there, she received a text from Majors ending the relationship. 

She later returned to Majors’ apartment and called him multiple times — Chaudhry alleges it was 32 — before taking two sleeping pills, Perez said. Majors returned to the apartment and saw the top door locked, called a handyman to unlock it, found Jabbari on the floor and called 911. Perez alleges that because Majors “manipulated her and trained her to stay silent” she was hesitant to tell police where her injuries came from. She was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries. 

In her opening statement, defense attorney Chaudhry described Majors as “a father, a poet, a devoted, practicing Christian and an actor,” while acknowledging that “though the world may see him as a movie star, Mr. Majors is a normal person, flaws and all,” in regards to conduct prior to March 25. She alleges that Jabbari had made these allegations to hurt him after the relationship ended.

“In revenge, she made these false allegations to ruin Jonathan Majors and to take away everything he had spent his whole life working for,” Chaudhry said. 

Chaudhry further claims that Jabbari was the aggressor and hurt Majors while in the car, including slapping, clawing and scratching him and later tearing his coat. She alleges that he “scooped her up and put her back in the car,” rather than threw her in, because she was in danger of running into traffic. She further alleges that Majors tried to run away from Jabbari several times, before checking into the hotel, while Jabbari was unhurt and partying with strangers.

When he returned to his apartment the next day, Chaudhry says Majors found Jabbari on the floor and called 911 out of concern. Chaudhry alleges that Jabbari was “confused and nearly unintelligible” and said “I don’t know” 19 times when initially questioned about her injuries, before agreeing with police when they asked if Majors had caused them. 

“This is a case about the end of a relationship, not about a crime, at least not one that Mr. Majors committed,” she said. 

On Monday, Majors walked in holding hands with his girlfriend, Meagan Good, alongside a group of seven supporters. He kissed all seven on the check before taking a seat with his attorneys, where he sat with his brown mug, a Bible and a binder. 

Majors and Good were also in court last week for jury selection and other motions, including a hearing on sealed evidence that Majors’ attorneys argued would “have a highly prejudicial impact on the jury,” ahead of opening statements.

The first witness, an expert who testified to data pulled from Majors’ iPhone, testified later Monday. The trial is expected to last two weeks.