Yahoo Lifestyle Jonathan Majors Wants A Hollywood Comeback. He Still Hasn't Done 1 Thing.
Ever since Jonathan Majors was arrested in March 2023 on charges that he assaulted and harassed his ex-girlfriend, he and his backers have carried on as if he is the victim and tried to desperately push for his comeback.
Last June, six months after he was found guilty of assaulting British choreographer and dancer Grace Jabbari, Majors received the Perseverance Award at the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards. As he tearfully accepted his honors, he portrayed himself as yet another casualty of injustice.
“As a Black man in the criminal justice system, I felt anger, I felt sadness, hurt, surprise,” he said at the time.
“This is what happens to Black people all too often,” Majors continued. “Guilt or innocence often have little to do with the outcome. That’s a harsh reality I learned.”
Iyanla Vanzant, who presented him the award, delivered a passionate speech in which she stressed to Majors that God “knows your heart and will continue to show you mercy for the excellence that you bring to the mastery of your craft despite the opinion of human beings.”
Vanzant’s words may have been wrapped in spirituality, but the sentiment conveyed was ugly. Vanzant, like so many that have rallied behind Majors, have been fixated on the notion of the actor being “cancelled.” What many of them want to say but never flat out declare is that they don’t believe this Black man’s career should be derailed over the accusations of a white woman alleging abuse.
Now, his celebrity pals are once again stressing that it’s time to move past his bad headlines and let him carry on with his once promising career. On Friday, “Magazine Dreams,” a film that was supposed to net the actor a potential Oscar nomination, will finally hit theaters. In the weeks leading up to the film’s release, Majors’ Hollywood PR machine has been full speed ahead trying to secure his comeback.
In the Hollywood Reporter’s feature “Jonathan Majors’ Moment of Truth,” Whoopi Goldberg, who appeared with Majors in the 2017 TV miniseries, “When We Rise,” argued: “You don’t get to say sorry these days. He was arrested. He went to court. He did what he was supposed to do. I’m not sure what else there is.”
Joining her are other previous collaborators like Michael B. Jordan, who wrote via email, “I would love to make ‘Creed IV’together — among other projects,” and Matthew McConaughey, who said, “I’ve known and know him as someone who is continuously striving to improve as a human, a man and an actor. I believe in him.”
I don’t fault Majors’ colleagues advocating for him to be given a second chance, but the problem with Goldberg’s assertion is that Majors has never actually publicly acknowledged or apologized for his alleged abuse.
It’s also been conveniently glossed over by his apologists that other women have come forward to allege that Majors abused them.
As Maura Hooper, one of Majors’ other exes that have accused him of emotional abuse, told THR: “I don’t really care that his movie is coming out. What do you get at the end of a 52-week domestic violence course? Do the victims get a debrief? How could I know if he’s changed? I don’t see redemption happening here.”
In the Hollywood Reporter article, Majors says he is unable to comment directly on Jabbari’s allegations of domestic violence. He noted that in addition to the court-ordered domestic violence program, he underwent therapy and reengaged with his pastor. These actions helped him unpack childhood traumas like the previously undisclosed sexual abuse he says he endured as a child.
None of that, though, negates what Majors was convicted of nor what we’ve learned since. Mere days after his big comeback-pushing feature in THR, Rolling Stoneunearthed audio of Majors confessing to Jabbari of his wrongdoing.
Their exchange went as follows:
“I’m ashamed I’ve ever— ” Majors says. “I’ve never [been] aggressive with a woman before. I’ve never aggressed a woman — I aggressed you.”
“You strangled me and pushed me against the car,” Jabbari responds.
“Yes, all those things are under ‘aggressed,’ yeah,” Majors responds. “That’s never happened to me.”
When asked about the released audio in his appearance on the daytime talk show “Sherri,” Majors told host Sherri Shepherd: “God has a plan and sometimes you just throw your hands up. I can’t speak about it, but I do know there’s a plan and I’m just … I’ve let go of control. Whatever it is, it is.”
There is a plan, alright, and judging from the comments under the interview, it’s working on Black audiences that the film’s distributor, Briarcliff Entertainment, is trying to reach.
Some of us are less convinced, however, as we can recall lessons from Christian theology: There can be no forgiveness for the unrepentant.
Majors, who carried a Bible with him during trial, must’ve missed Galatians 6:7. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
And Luke 17:3. “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”
When it comes to Majors and the redemption arc launched by his handlers and bolstered by his most famous and powerful supporters, I’m reminded how so often people want to be forgiven without ever acknowledging any wrongdoing.
Majors, like so many other men in entertainment accused of abuse and wrongdoing before him, will likely be fine professionally so long as misogyny exists.
Some might want to call that part of God’s plan, but it seems more so the patriarchy’s usual playbook in practice.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
