Ant-Man star Jonathan Majors has been charged with assault and harassment after a reported ugly altercation in New York City at the weekend.
TMZ reports police responded to an emergency call in Manhattan on Saturday (local time), where the alleged victim, who is reportedly Majors’ girlfriend, told police that the actor had attacked her after an argument.
The woman said Majors hit her “about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear”, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the US’s ABC News network.
The New York Police Department said officers took a 33-year-old male into custody without incident.
“The victim sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition,” they said.
The NYPD said Majors, who also stars alongside Michael B Jordan in the recently released Creed III, had been arrested on strangulation, assault and harassment charges.
In a statement obtained by the BBC, Majors’ lawyer said the actor was “completely innocent” and alleged he was the victim of the altercation.
“We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently,” Priya Chaudhry said.
“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.”
Majors was held in custody briefly, before a judge released him without bail. He is due back in court in May.
The arrest came weeks after he and Jordan presented an award at the Oscars.
Majors got his career break in HBO show Lovecraft Country and then 2019’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He has since starred in the Netflix western The Harder They Fall and Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
He has also featured in ads for the US Army. Following his arrest, the army has halted the ads.
“While Mr Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete,” the Army Enterprise Marketing Office said in a statement to CNN.
