The attorney defending Hollywood actor Jonathan Majors on assault charges has denied that she was the reason behind the delayed start to his trial.
The Creed III star, 33, will face the Manhattan Criminal Court on two counts of third-degree assault, aggravated harassment and attempted assault for an alleged incident involving his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in March in New York City.
Priya Chaudry of the Chaudhry Law PLLC has represented Majors since he was first arrested and long maintained Majors' innocence.
Chaudry and Majors appeared at the court on August 3 for what should have been the start of the actor's criminal trial, but it was delayed until September 6 on request of prosecutors who said they needed more time to go through the discovery process.
However, it was reported that it was Chaudry who requested the new date, something she has denied.
"Many outlets have misreported what happened on Jonathan Majors' August 3 court date, falsely claiming that I made a motion to delay the trial. That is untrue and incorrect," Chaudry said in a written statement provided to Newsweek. "The prosecution confessed to its unpreparedness, pushing the trial date to September 6. I presented no motions, did not ask to delay the trial, and there were no motions before the court."
She continued: "Jonathan Majors has been waiting for 132 days to clear his name of these false allegations while the NYPD waits to arrest his accuser upon her New York return." If found guilty, Majors could face up to a year in jail.
One of the original incidents involving Majors and Jabbari allegedly occurred in a New York City cab and continued at an apartment on March 25 where it was originally reported that Jabbari had called 911. However, Chaudry has insisted Majors was the one to call emergency services "due to concern for her mental health."
"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," Chaudhry said in a March statement.
In June, Majors went to a Chinatown police precinct to file a complaint against Jabbari whom he alleged hit him on a street corner near there, causing pain.
Chaudry claimed Majors went to the station "to present them with evidence of what really happened on that night," and alleged Jabbari was "drunk and hysterical" on the night in question on March 25.
But even though police originally found reason to investigate Jabbari, prosecutors decided not to press charges and an incident card calling for her to attend questioning at the precinct was canceled.
Jabbari and Majors met while working on the Marvel film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where the actor played the role of Kang the Conqueror. Kang will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) new overarching villain.
Majors also appeared as Kang in the Disney+ series, Loki. The character Kang is set to also appear in the upcoming Marvel films Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
While many wondered what impact the charges would have on Majors' career, it seems Marvel is still backing him and even featured him in the new trailer for the second season of Loki.
Released last week, the trailer featured Majors alongside Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson and newcomer Ke Huy Quan. Disney confirmed Loki's second season will premiere on October 6.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
