The moment of Majors’ arrest
Ex-girlfriend tells court she at first didn’t want actor to get in trouble
Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari on Wednesday told a Manhattan Criminal Court jury she didn’t want the actor to get in trouble when she woke up surrounded by NYPD officers — with a broken finger and a gash on her head — in their Chelsea apartment in March.
Jabbari, 30, detailed the “overwhelming” moment during her second day on the witness stand at Majors’ misdemeanor domestic violence trial.
“Being a woman, half-naked, like, surrounded by big men. It was not the nicest feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Jabbari testified.
The British choreographer, who appeared in this year’s blockbuster “Barbie,” said the disorienting moment was accompanied by excruciating pain from injuries sustained the night before during a blowout with Majors as the pair headed home in a private car from Brooklyn.
Jabbari said the actor became aggressive when she grabbed his phone upon seeing him get a text from another woman, twisting her arm behind her back before striking a “hard blow” to the side of her head. Jurors saw photos depicting a gnarly cut behind
Jabbari’s ear and her bruised and swollen fractured middle finger.
The argument spilled onto the street near Canal St. and Centre St., where Jabbari said Majors shoved her back into the car when she tried to follow him.
Jabbari said she initially didn’t speak up about the assault when cops woke her, partially out of concern Majors.
“I think just things he had told me in the past of not trusting police — and what they would do to him, as a Black man, and I didn’t want to put him in that situation,” Jabbari said, separately testifying that she felt like it was her fault upon learning he’d been arrested. In the apartment, Jabbari said she “alluded to it in the safest way” possible, aware Majors might overhear. She didn’t speak up until Bellevue medics told her they believed she’d hurt herself.
Jabbari said the incident capped a tumultuous 19-month relationship that saw Majors psychologically torment her and for frequently become violent.
“He knows what he’s done,” she testified as the Marvel actor looked down at the defense table. “He’s cheated on me. He’s attacked me.”
Once a mutual friend of the former couple, Majors’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry scrutinized Jabbari’s memories of Majors pushing her into the car, which Jabbari noted was captured on CCTV.
Majors, 34, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment charges carrying up to a year in jail. The actor contends he’s the victim and that his ex is unstable and fabricated the incident.
In October, the NYPD arrested Jabbari in response to a countercomplaint alleging domestic violence by Majors and released her with a ticket. Prosecutors quickly declined the case.
Jabbari said Majors’ reaction to his arrest meant her hell has been ongoing.
“It’s felt like the abuse that I was in has just not ended,” she said.