Jonathan Majors’ Domestic Violence Accuser Leaves Court In Tears Over NYPD Body-Cam Footage Shown To Jury
Testifying for the third day in a row in Jonathan Majors’ domestic violence trial, the actor’s ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari reached a breaking point Thursday.
Under cross-examination from defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry and with Majors seated close by, Jabbari left Judge Michael Gaffey’s courtroom this afternoon in tears upon being shown police body-camera footage of the NYPD responding to the Magazine Dreams star’s 911 call in late March.
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Dropped by his management and PR company soon after he was arrested for the incident, Majors could get up to a year behind bars if found guilty on the misdemeanor charges against his ex of two years.
The actor has insisted on his innocence, and his attorneys have repeatedly said Jabbari was the aggressor in the relationship and on the night of March 24 – even going so far as to file a cross-complaint against her in June. With the Manhattan DA’s office essentially terming any prosecution of Jabbari as DOA, the defense has also termed the case against their WME-repped client a “witch hunt.”
Last week, after tossing on-lookers out of the court for a spell, Judge Gaffey sealed evidence he openly called “prejudicial and inflammatory” toward Majors. Sources have told Deadline that the sealed documents at issue contain information on potential past incidents involving the actor both in the U.S. and the UK.
The police footage shown in court today, revealing a partially clothed Jabbari asleep and awaking in a small room in Major’s Chelsea apartment, prompted `loud cries from the self-described “professional dancer” that could be heard from the witness room. Coming back to the 100 Centre Street courtroom after a few minutes, Jabbari asked Judge Gaffey “do I have to?” about watching the video.
The answer was yes.
Jabbari cried on the stand while the footage played.
The NYPD footage was one of several videos that the defense played in court today as Chaudhry, often to objections, sought to portray her client’s then girlfriend as far from hurt, barely upset by the alleged incident between the two and enjoying a night of clubbing almost right after it all supposedly went down. While prosecutors and defense lawyers have very different perspectives on what went down in the back of a hired car between Majors and Jabbari late on March 24th, all sides agree it was prompted by texts from another woman that the British national saw on the Loki actor’s phone.
Today in her testimony, Jabbari admitted that to some extent she was unaware of the extent to her alleged injuries from Majors that night. However, Thursday she told the jury of three men and three women, the judge, Majors and all the lawyers that when she woke up the next day, she “felt like I got hit by a bus.”
Jabbari’s testimony will continue Friday. There have been whispers that Majors, who has been in court every day this week with a bible close by, could testify in his own defense. The trial, which saw testimony begin on Dec. 4, has been estimated at two weeks, though sources say it may go a bit longer.
Also unknown at present is if the Sundance premiering Magazine Dreams will ever get a release date from Searchlight, who picked up the Elijah Bynum-directed film earlier this year. Featuring an intimate performance from Majors as a traumatized bodybuilder, the movie had been set to come out this month. However, five weeks ago, as Deadline revealed, Disney removed Magazine Dreams from its release schedule. No new date has been put on the books.
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