By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jonathan Majors, a fast-rising Hollywood star before domestic violence charges derailed his career, avoided jail and was sentenced to one year of domestic-violence counseling on Monday after being found guilty of attacking his former girlfriend.
The sentence was imposed by Justice Michael Gaffey of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, where Majors was convicted on Dec. 18 of one count each of third-degree assault and second-degree harassment, neither a felony, against Grace Jabbari.
Majors had faced up to one year in jail, but prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office recommended the counseling. He must also continue therapy and stay away from Jabbari.
Priya Chaudhry, a lawyer for Majors, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jabbari sued Majors last month for defamation, assault, battery, and inflicting emotional distress, in a civil complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
The 34-year-old Majors rose to fame by starring in the 2019 film "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," and later gained plaudits for his work in the blockbusters "Creed III" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."
Majors played the villainous Kang the Conqueror in several Marvel Studios productions including "Quantumania," and was expected to return to the role in a 2026 release, "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty."
But his legal troubles led to the end of his relationship with Marvel, which parted ways following the conviction.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), meanwhile, removed another star vehicle for Majors, "Magazine Dreams," from its release calendar last October.
The criminal case against Majors stemmed from a March 2023 altercation in a hired SUV that left Jabbari, his girlfriend at the time, with a broken finger and swollen arm and ear.
Jabbari testified that Majors attacked her after she grabbed his phone upon seeing a text from another woman, including by twisting her arm behind her back and striking her in the head.
She also said Majors had a "violent temper" and "exploded" in anger on other occasions.
Assistant District Attorney Kelli Galaway told the judge before sentencing that Majors' "complete lack of remorse" and his abuse of Jabbari "make it all the more likely this defendant will reoffend without serious, in-person intervention through domestic violence programming."
Like many criminal defendants, Majors did not testify. His lawyer claimed that Jabbari attacked Majors, and falsely accused him of assault after they broke up.
The trial lasted two weeks, and jurors acquitted Majors on two other charges.