Hollywood actor Jonathan Majors says that he is "completely innocent" after allegedly choking his partner during a domestic dispute.
The Marvel and Creed III star, 33, was arrested on Saturday in New York and charged with assault and harassment of a 30-year-old woman, who was described by TMZ as his girlfriend.
On Sunday Mr Majors' lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, claimed that the woman was the aggressor and has now recanted her allegations.
“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows. We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently,” Ms Chaudhry said in a statement, provided to The Independent.
“This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations. All the evidence proves that Mr Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever.
“Unfortunately, this incident came about because this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday. The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr Majors was arrested. We expect these charges to be dropped soon.”
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said that its officers had responded to an emergency call at an apartment in Chelsea at 11.14am, determining it to be a "domestic dispute".
According to city prosecutors, the woman alleged that Mr Majors had struck her in the face with an open hand, “causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear”, and put his hand on her neck, “causing bruising and substantial pain”.
She was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries to her head and neck. Mr Majors was "placed into custody without incident", the NYPD said. He has since been released.
In a statement given to multiple media outlets, Mr Majors' spokesperson Carrie Gordon said: “He has done nothing wrong. We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
Mr Majors most recently starred as Kang in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania alongside Paul Rudd, and is rumoured to appear in the forthcoming second season of Loki opposite Tom Hiddleston.
Earlier this year, he also starred in Creed III with Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson. His other credits include the HBO drama Lovecraft Country, and the 2021 western The Harder They Fall.
This story was updated at 4:32pm Pacific Time on Sunday 26 March 2023 to correct details of the charges against Mr Majors.
