Post updated 12/15/23. See update below.
More is brewing for Disney and MCU star Jonathan Majors, as text messages and an audio recording between Kang’s actor and his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, have been presented as evidence in the actor’s ongoing assault case.
The new evidence includes disturbing text messages that were made public last week as well as a new audio recording in which Majors allegedly compares himself to Martin Luther King Jr. and describes himself as “a great man” in what appears to be an attempt to prevent Jabbari from going out drinking with friends.
In the text messages, Majors tries to dissuade Jabbari from going to the hospital for a traumatic brain injury. “If I go, I’ll tell the doctor I hit my head,” he replies. “I’m going to give you some extra help. ” day, I still can’t sleep and I want stronger painkillers. That’s it: why would I tell them what happened when it’s clear that I want to be with you? »
He proceeds to tell her that he’s a monster and threatens to kill himself, among other troubling texts.
The audio recording sheds new light on the case and the couple’s relationship, as well as Majors’ best opinion of himself.
“I’m a wonderful man. A wonderful man,” Majors says at one point in the clip. “I’m doing wonderful things, not only for myself, but also for my culture and for the world. That’s the position I’m in. “
He also compares his greatness to other important ancient figures in the black network on the recording, saying, “No, no, do you understand that?Because this team, this unity, right? Grace will have to have a confident mindset to help,” Coretta said. Scott King, do you know who he is? She is the wife of Martin Luther King. Michelle Obama, Barack Obama’s wife.
There’s more. You can read the transcript and pay attention to the audio on Variety.
Setting aside the outcome of the assault case, this is a glimpse into a deeply troubling mindset from Majors. It’s clear at this point that Disney needs to cut its losses and either recast the current MCU super-villain, Kang, or change course entirely and move away from the Kang storyline. I agree with my colleague Paul Tassi who wrote last week: “Majors needs to go. He needed to go a while ago, and this new evidence read into record has to spur Disney to action at this point.”
It looks like the evidence will continue to pile up. It may not possibly be evidence that will convict him in a court of law, however, his reputation is in tatters and, judging by the way he behaves in those texts and the audio recording, it is a well-deserved fall from grace. Oh, what an irony. Whether or not Majors is guilty of this attack, he is obviously someone Disney engages with for many other reasons.
All this is extraordinarily regrettable, I might add. Majors is an extraordinarily talented actor. His performances in Lovecraft Country and in the brilliant second season of Loki were phenomenal. If we can completely separate art from artist, I can simply congratulate him on his ordinary talent. Unfortunately, you can be either incredibly talented or a very bad person.
Update 15/12/23
Victor at the right time.
I have gotten a ton of pushback to this (rather mild) piece on Twitter and elsewhere, to the point where I’ve begun to suspect that there are troll farms coordinating attacks on anyone who dares to criticize Jonathan Majors no matter how mildly.
The same few court cases (or widespread attacks full of profanity) keep popping up, which isn’t unexpected whether it’s a biological reaction from the fandom or a coordinated attempt to silence critics (or a combination of both). I’ll deal with each of them individually, though I’m sure I’ll forget a few. Most of them are straw men and red herrings, although there is also a bit of an ad hominem discovery.
Right off the bat, what I heard from angry Twitter users in some edition of “How Does He Turn Out He’s Guilty?”» or “The video suggests otherwise!” in reference to the video of Jabbari chasing Majors out of the taxi.
This one is also pretty easy to counter, especially since it’s directed at people who clearly didn’t bother to read the actual article before angrily tweeting at me. I never said that the texts or audio recording prove Majors is guilty. I never even discussed whether or not he’s guilty, as I have no idea whether or not that’s true. The court case will determine his guilt or innocence under the law, but even then what actually happened will remain a contested mystery.
The texts and audio recordings, however, shed light on Majors’ process of quoting and insights. We now know that he considers himself “a wonderful man” and that he uses suicide threats as an argument, which here seems to be a form of manipulation.
This is the most common reaction to this article and many things I’ve written involving reviews (it’s really quite unexpected how many people accuse a reviewer of writing a “biased review”), and it’s by far the maximum reaction. irritating, not the most serious thing.
What I wrote above this update wasn’t just news. He wasn’t just reporting what Majors said in his texts and audio recording. I made a few small comments on this topic. My opinion is that suicide threats, manipulation, and other narcissistic tendencies make Majors a liability for Disney. It’s conceivable that they can’t assure him that he alone brings up suicide threats.
It’s okay if you say “I don’t agree with your opinion,” but simply stating “bias” only reaffirms that you’re ignorant and don’t understand how journalism works or what the word bias means. Bias implies that I have no public issues with Majors and that even outside of this case and those text messages, I need an excuse to lower it a notch or two. This is simply not true. As I said in the original article, I think Majors is a brilliant actor and one of the most productive actors the MCU has recruited in recent years. I think it’s a real shame that all this happened and I wish it hadn’t. I think his performance in Loki in particular was certainly fascinating, but being a smart actor doesn’t protect you from criticism.
It helps you move forward and while I don’t even think it deserves to be given an answer, I think you want to solve it. Nothing in this case or in those texts, etc. , has anything to do with race, at least not for me. I sense the sensibility here, the fact that the black network would possibly get defensive about this, but just like being a smart actor, a wealthy celebrity, or a tough politician doesn’t deserve to protect you from consequences or criticism. Neither of you deserves the color of your skin. To recommend otherwise would in itself be racist. All men and women deserve to be treated equally and this also applies to racing.
The map of racism is presented with an edition of this issue. Why didn’t you write similar critical articles about Ezra Miller?Well, about a year ago, before The Flash came out, I asked DC and Warner Bros. that they abandoned Miller because of his many, many crimes, which come with pretty crazy attacks and recordings. In fact, I indexed all the things Miller was charged/convicted of and argued pretty strongly that no matter how much DC invested in the actor and the movie, getting rid of them was the right thing to do.
As for Renner, he was accused of a nasty divorce through his ex-wife. Nothing has been proven or even corroborated. No one took those allegations seriously. There was nothing to denounce.
Robert Downey Jr. was convicted of drug crimes long before he became Iron Man. He was not convicted of assaulting a woman. There was no evidence or reports that he was abusing anything other than drugs. There is a big difference. between addiction and aggression (although in reality they are mutually exclusive).
I’ve written countless articles about the risks of an over-the-top cancel culture. But being skeptical of cancel culture isn’t the same as believing that there doesn’t deserve to be consequences no matter what. I don’t think some bad tweets or old jokes deserve to get fired from your job. I believe that other people can change, repent, reform, and be redeemed. I think the current zeitgeist is driven by fanatics who need more strength than justice.
But! I also think there are some things that are worth canceling, or at least suffering some consequences for. This includes attacks and assaults. This includes emotional abuse. And that applies to you, whether you’re black or white, male or female, or, as in Ezra Miller’s illustrious career of abusive behavior, non-binary. There is a threat that they will take over noble reasons. through the modern Robespierres, and that what at first seemed like a noble cause will become little more than a backyard of guillotines, but that doesn’t just mean that we prevent holding other people accountable for their actions. political leaders, our teachers, our celebrities, and ourselves.
I’m also not saying that Majors will never paint again or call for the end of his career. I think that, like everyone, he has the opportunity to redeem himself and continue to do his homework and put food on the table. But that doesn’t mean it’s smart to have compatibility for Disney and the MCU right now.
As far as I know, whether or not Jabbari is part of the problem, whether or not he has these poisonous two-sided quotes (he almost is), the fact is that Jabbari is not Kang. She’s not a standout actress about to become the next one. megavillain in the Marvel. Me Cinematic Universe I’m concentrating here on what Majors said in those texts and audio, because I’m concentrating on the MCU and what it all means for the MCU going forward. Like my article on Miller, I don’t focus on the other people involved in those cases for this very apparent reason. It’s up to the courts to decide.
I also made a video discussing this issue which you can watch below:
I made a video explaining why Ezra Miller also stopped being The Flash some time ago.
Updated 19/12/23
Jonathan Majors was found guilty of two charges (assault and harassment) and Disney fired him from his role as Kang in the MCU.
I talk about conviction in my most recent video. I also wrote an article with my possible options for a redesign of Kang, if Disney makes the decision to keep the villain.