Actor Jonathan Majors found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend in car in New York
New York (AP): Jonathan Majors was convicted on Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a two-week trial that the actor hoped would salvage his damaged reputation and restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star.
A Manhattan jury found Majors, 34, guilty of assault and harassment. He was also acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment. Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no immediate reaction, looking slightly downward.
His sentencing was set for February 6.
The charges stemmed from a dispute between the "Creed III" actor and his girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, that began in the backseat of a chauffeured car and spilled into the streets of Manhattan one night last March.
Jabbari, a 30-year-old British dancer, accused Majors of an attack inside the vehicle that left her in "excruciating" pain. She said he struck 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 that she flew into a jealous rage after reading a text message on his phone sent by another woman. They said Jabbari had spread a "fantasy" to take down the actor, who was only trying to regain his phone and get away safely.
The verdict dealt a major blow to Majors, who was on the verge of Hollywood stardom until his arrest in March sent his career into a tailspin.
Once slated to lead the next phase of the Marvel universe as the supervillain Kang the Conqueror, Majors faced an uncertain future with the lucrative franchise after the abuse charges. The actor, who attended the Yale School of Drama, has lost other parts and endorsement deals and seen his critically-acclaimed drama, "Magazine Dreams", pulled from its scheduled release earlier this month.
Majors arrived in the courtroom each morning carrying a gold-leaf Bible, offering hugs to his family members and his current girlfriend, actress Meagan Good, before taking his seat. Expressionless for much of the testimony, he wiped away tears as his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, urged jurors to "end this nightmare for Jonathan Majors".
But as Majors sought vindication from the jury, the trial also brought forth new evidence about his troubled relationship with Jabbari, whom he met on the set of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" two years ago.
Accusing Majors of a "cruel and manipulative pattern" of abuse, prosecutors shared text messages that showed the actor begging 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".
They also played audio of Majors declaring himself a "great man", then questioning whether Jabbari could meet the high standards set by the spouses of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. Majors' attorneys countered that Jabbari had surreptitiously recorded her boyfriend as part of her plot to "destroy" his career.
Over four days of tearful testimony, Jabbari said Majors was excessively controlling and prone to fits of explosive rage that left her afraid "physically quite a lot".
She broke down on the witness stand 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".
Majors did not take the stand. But Chaudhry said her client was the victim of "white lies, big lies, and pretty little lies" invented by Jabbari to exact revenge on an unfaithful partner.
The attorney cited security footage, taken immediately after the shove, that showed Majors sprinting away from his girlfriend as she chased him through the night. Jabbari then followed a group of strangers she'd met on the street to a dance club, where she ordered drinks for the group and did not appear to be favouring her injured hand.
"She was revenge-partying and charging Champagne to the man she was angry with and treating these strangers to fancy Champagne she bought with Jonathan's credit card," Chaudhry alleged.
The next morning, after finding Jabbari unconscious in the closet of their Manhattan penthouse, Majors called police. He was arrested at the scene, while Jabbari was transported to a hospital to receive treatment for the injuries to her ear and hand.
"He called 911 out of concern for her, and his fear of what happens when a Black man in America came true," Chaudhry said, accusing police and prosecutors of failing to take seriously Majors' allegations that he was bloodied and scratched during the dispute.
In her closing arguments, 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," Galaway said. "You were asked why you are here? Because domestic violence is serious."
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Telangana survey flags 89,000 child labourers, highlights caste disparities in employment
Hyderabad: A caste-based survey conducted by the Telangana government for 2024–25 has identified around 89,000 children engaged in labour across the state, with a large share belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
The findings are part of the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey, which covered about 3.5 crore people across 242 caste groups. According to the report, nearly one per cent of individuals below 18 years are involved in daily wage work. While the percentage appears small, officials noted that the absolute number reflects a serious concern.
The survey found that 11 per cent of identified child labourers belong to the ST Lambadi community, while 14 per cent are from the SC Madiga community. The highest incidence was reported among the ST Kolam group, where 7.2 per cent of minors are engaged in daily wage labour.
The data also revealed wider socio-economic disparities. Nearly half of the Scheduled Caste population is dependent on daily wage work, while only around 5 per cent are employed in the private sector, compared to about 30 per cent among General Castes.
State Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the findings show that SC and ST communities remain three times more backward than General Castes, while Backward Classes are about 2.7 times more disadvantaged.
The report further noted that, on average, 31.3 per cent of people in the 25–65 age group depend on daily wage work. Among communities, the BC-A Odde group recorded the highest share at 55 per cent. In contrast, only 2.6 per cent of OC Brahmins rely on such work.
Several SC and ST communities, including Kolam, Beda, Madiga, Koya, Gond, Yerukulas and Mala Sale, were found to have among the highest proportions of daily wage earners. On the other hand, most General Caste communities and some Backward Class groups such as Goldsmiths and BC-C Christians showed lower dependence on daily wage employment.
The survey also pointed to inequalities in access to formal employment. Communities such as OC Rajus, OC Brahmins and Kapus were found to have a higher presence in private sector jobs, with up to 27 per cent of their population employed in such roles.
