Jonathan Majors' ex-girlfriend sues him for assault and defamation

Jonathan Majors' ex-girlfriend, whom he was found guilty of assaulting, is now suing him for allegedly abusing her and embarking on an "extensive media campaign" to destroy her reputation.

Grace Jabbari filed a lawsuit against Majors in New York on Tuesday, alleging the "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" star defamed her while denying her allegations of abuse, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by USA TODAY. The suit accuses Majors of battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution, alleging he was physically abusive throughout their relationship.

"Now that Majors can no longer physically abuse Grace, he has resorted to very publicly abusing her reputation," the lawsuit alleged, accusing Majors of making "defamatory statements about Grace, both before and after his criminal trial, intending for his celebrity, wide social media following, and the public interest in his arrest to cause the public to accept his statements as fact and believe Grace was lying."

Majors' attorney Priya Chaudhry said in a statement to USA TODAY that the lawsuit is "no surprise," adding that Majors "is preparing counterclaims against Ms. Jabbari."

Brittany Henderson, an attorney for Jabbari, told USA TODAY, "Grace Jabbari's resolve has never wavered. She has shown tremendous bravery in her quest for accountability. This action will shed light on the truth, bringing her the finality and justice that she deserves."

In December, a jury found Majors guilty of assaulting Jabbari. The actor was convicted on one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation but acquitted him of another assault charge and of aggravated harassment. Majors has not yet been sentenced, but in January, he discussed the verdict in an interview with ABC News and maintained that he has never struck a woman.

"I'm an athlete. I'm a sportsman. I know my body. I know how it moves," he said. "I know my strength, or lack thereof, you know? None of that was employed on her."

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Jabbari's lawsuit described Majors' ABC interview as a "shocking denigration of our criminal justice system." It outlined multiple allegedly false and defamatory statements Majors made, including that the alleged assault "never happened" and that "my hands have never struck a woman."

"Majors' defense to Grace's descriptions of the numerous acts of violence Majors perpetrated against her was to brazenly defame her and label her a liar on all claims," the suit alleged.

Jabbari's suit claimed that Majors intended not only to cast her as a liar but damage her career and cause the public to "lash out, harass, intimidate, and bully" her. His "defamatory statements have had the intended effect on an international scale," the suits adds.

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In addition to the 2023 incident at the center of Majors' trial, the lawsuit also accused the actor of a pattern of abuse and alleges he first physically attacked her in July 2022, when he shoved her into a shower door and threw her body into a shower wall. He attacked her again in September 2022, causing "serious injuries to her body," the suit says. Majors allegedly "picked Grace up in the air and threw her against the hood of her car" and then hit her head against a marble floor "while strangling her until she felt she could no longer breathe."

The lawsuit additionally discusses Jabbari being arrested in October after Majors filed a cross-complaint against her, leading the NYPD to open an investigation. The Manhattan district attorney's office said it would decline to prosecute. In the lawsuit, Jabbari accuses Majors of malicious prosecution, slamming this "truly desperate attempt to discredit his victim before trial" as an "offense-is-the-best-defense tactic deployed by Majors to harass and intimidate" her.

In a statement to USA TODAY after Majors' conviction in December, Chaudhry said the actor "still has faith in the process and looks forward to fully clearing his name."

"It is clear that the jury did not believe Grace Jabbari's story of what happened in the SUV because they found that Mr. Majors did not intentionally cause any injuries to her. We are grateful for that," Chaudhry added. "We are disappointed, however, that despite not believing Ms. Jabbari, the jury nevertheless found that Mr. Majors was somehow reckless while she was attacking him."

Majors is scheduled to be sentenced in April. The actor was dropped from the Marvel franchise following his conviction after playing the villain Kang in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Loki."

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Taijuan Moorman, Kimi Robinson