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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Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
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