Jonathan Majors made headlines this past weekend when it was reported that he’d been arrested for strangulation and other charges. The star is no longer in police custody and, shortly after the news broke, one of his representatives denied the claims on his behalf. Up to this point, there hadn’t seemed to be any immediate professional ramifications for Majors. However, it’s been confirmed that the U.S. Army is officially pausing a marketing campaign featuring the Marvel Cinematic Universe star. The organization has since released a statement explaining the decision.
The United States Army recruited the Kang the Conqueror actor for its Be All You Can Be ad campaign and, so far, two commercials featuring the actor have made it to the air thus far. Laura DeFrancisco, who serves as the public affairs chief for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office, was the official who ultimately provided the statement on the actor. Per her comments, which were shared with THR, it doesn’t appear that the campaign has been canceled entirely. However, the recent situation has given the branch of the Armed Services pause:
The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest. While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.
Authorities in New York arrested Jonathan Majors on the morning of Saturday, March 25, after receiving a call from an individual in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Last Friday, while in a taxi, Majors allegedly got into an argument with a woman said to be his girlfriend. She told the police that after she tried to look over his phone, he purportedly grabbed her neck and caused visible injuries, which served as “probable cause” for Majors to be taken into custody. As of right now, he’s been charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, second-degree harassment, two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault.
In the aftermath, the entertainer’s lawyer denied any wrongdoing on his part and has stated that he’s “probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.” The attorney also detailed alleged evidence, including video footage, several witnesses and “two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations.”
All the while, others have since spoken out against the A-lister, one of which is filmmaker A.B. Allen, who accused him of having exhibited “vicious, cruel” behavior in the past. Allen later clarified that they witnessed the actor allegedly being “emotionally violent” and “professionally abusive” and not physically harmful. Broadway alum Tim Nicolai also said alumni of Yale – where the Lovecraft Country star earned a Master’s Degree – had negative encounters with him at the school.
Jonathan Majors has been on the come-up as of late, having had several big productions on the 2023 new movie release schedule thus far. He played the aforementioned Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and, just weeks ago, he received rave reviews for playing the antagonistic Damian Anderson in Creed III. It remains to be seen whether any of his other business opportunities are affected by his legal situation. A court date for Majors’ case is currently set for May 8.
