Jonathan Majors has been charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment, a day after he was arrested in New York City.
According to the complaint from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the “Lovecraft Country” actor was arraigned Sunday. In the complaint, shared Monday with The Times, the alleged victim said Majors did “strike her about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear.” The woman was not identified.
Majors, 33, also allegedly grabbed the woman’s hand, “causing swelling, bruising, and substantial pain to her finger,” and “put his hand on her neck.”
Majors has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault and one misdemeanor count each of third-degree attempted assault, second-degree aggravated harassment and second-degree harassment.
A legal representative for Majors did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Monday.
The “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Creed III” star was arrested on charges of assault, strangulation and harassment on Saturday.
The complaint also says a judge released the actor on his own recognizance and granted a limited order of protection. Majors’ next court date is May 8.
The arrest of Majors has upended the Army’s newly launched advertising campaign that was aimed at reviving the service’s struggling recruiting numbers.
Majors was the narrator of two ads at the heart of a broader media campaign that kicked off at the start of the NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament.
Army leaders were hopeful that the popularity of the star would help them reach the youth audience.
In a statement Sunday, the Army’s Enterprise Marketing Office said that the Army was aware of Majors’ arrest and was “deeply concerned by the allegations.” It added that while Majors “is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”
New York City police said the actor was involved in a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman. “The victim informed police she was assaulted,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
A lawyer for Majors, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement Sunday there was evidence clearing Majors and that the actor “is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”
The Army ads, titled “Overcoming Obstacles” and “Pushing Tomorrow,” are part of the plan to revive the Army’s “Be All You Can be” motto. They highlighted the history of the Army and some of the many professions that recruits can pursue.
The “Be All You Can Be” slogan dominated its recruiting ads for two decades starting in 1981. A nearly two-minute preview video, made available before the campaign rollout in early March, featured soldiers jumping out of airplanes, working on helicopters, climbing obstacle courses and diving underwater. A voiceover said: “We bring out the best in the people who serve, because America calls for nothing less.”
In the Army’s worst recruiting year in recent history, the service fell 25% short of its goal to enlist 60,000 recruits in 2022. The new ads were a key element in the Army’s drive to find creative new ways to attract recruits and ensure that the service has the troops it needs to help defend the nation.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the Army has set a difficult goal for this year: aiming to bring in 65,000 recruits, which would be 20,000 more than in 2022.
—Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press, Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times
