Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros.This story has been updated with response from Jonathan Majors and his representatives.
Star Jonathan Majors resurfaced in the news yesterday when TMZ broke footage of the actor apparently breaking up a fight between two high schoolers, but it turns out Marvel fans aren’t having it.
Jonathan Majors really thought he did this pic.twitter.com/ICdravJDaL
— Ibrahim Khan (@unrealpathan) September 15, 2023
Instead, the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania actor is getting roasted online as numerous commentators accuse the video of being a PR stunt to generate sympathy before Majors reports for a court hearing on assault charges.
Notably, as many people point out, TMZ released the video of Jonathan Majors and the high school fight.
The fact that TMZ is the first to release that Jonathan Majors video and not a the “high schooler” that recorded it on some account with 300 followers says everything lmao
— RNIC (@DepressedDETN) September 14, 2023
Related: Disney Ignores Controversy, Confirms Plan to Release New Jonathan Majors Movie
Marvel, Jonathan Majors, & Assault Allegations
In March, Marvel star Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York City on charges of assault, strangulation, and harassment against Grace Jabbari, his former girlfriend. Since then, there have been reports that the Magazine Dreams star is under investigation for multiple assault allegations.
The backlash was harsh and immediate, with Jonathan Majors losing his management, a spokesman deal with the U.S. Army, and his future at Marvel Studios coming into doubt.
The PR team are geniuses for making the first search results for "Jonathan Majors beat up girl" to be a video of Majors interfering two girls beating each other up https://t.co/2TzOrUiyzL
— QQ (@HeylKatme) September 14, 2023
The Creed III star’s lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, has denied all wrongdoing, but the damage to Majors’ swiftly rising career has been done.
Now, Marvel fans are mocking the actor for what they allege is a clumsy attempt to rehabilitate his image before an important legal date.
Jonathan Majors High School Fight
The fight broken up by Jonathan Majors took place at the Hollywood In-N-Out on Sunset Boulevard. TMZ interviewed the Marvel actor afterward, who told the news outlet that he was “just trying to be a helpful guy… [It was] a school fight, I saw it. That’s all.”
Majors also clarified that he did not know either individual in the fight, who he told: “Stay cool.”
Here's the first video of #JonathanMajors playing the hero in real life, as he broke up a HS fight while others just watched. https://t.co/wMNtONz0Tz pic.twitter.com/HaaXjyVrLm
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 14, 2023
Twitter commentators have swiftly pounced on the video. Among other things, they have accused Majors and his PR time of staging the fight, noting the apparent convenience that he randomly happened across the fight, which was also being filmed by multiple people.
jonathan majors pr team wants me to believe that he was at a burger joint in a zoot suit when he felt a disturbance in the force and saved two innocent citizens? MAN AIGHT
— zootisha addams (@zootytang) September 14, 2023
This was quickly addressed Dustin Pusch, counsel to Jonathan Majors, who spoke to Inside the Magic stating:
Any suggestion that the video of Mr. Majors breaking up the fight is somehow staged or not genuine is absurd. It is disappointing that many media outlets have ignored the fact that a student who was actually there that day has confirmed it was 100% real. On the eve of being cleared of any wrongdoing, it is preposterous to suggest anyone would stage such a thing.
The video Mr. Pusch is referring to was posted on X (formally Twitter) by @HatokoKemo.
The Jonathan Majors fight was 100% real. I go to the school the fight was at, I know one of the girls who fought. It was over stupid high school stuff. Here’s another angle for everyone who’s saying there was no one there. No idea how TMZ got it first. 1/? pic.twitter.com/fztHGF5fhj
— Kehato (@HatokoKemo) September 15, 2023
The Future of Kang
In 2023 alone, Jonathan Majors appeared alongside his friend Michael B Jordan in the latest installment of the Creed series, starred in the well-reviewed Sundance film bodybuilding film Magazine Dreams, and co-starred with Paul Rudd in the third Ant-Man movie.
However, Majors’ future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems in doubt at the moment. The actor has been promoted as the new Big Bad of the franchise after Josh Brolin’s Thanos, playing the Multiversal villain Kang the Conqueror.
Live footage of Jonathan Majors saving humanity from an alien invasion one day before his domestic violence trial pic.twitter.com/hYknYUagQP
— Pepper Brooks (@pepbrooksESPN) September 14, 2023
Related: Jonathan Majors’ Accuser Flees Country After New Charges
The actor has been assumed to play a central role in the upcoming movies Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, but the question of whether Marvel Studios will recast him will likely depend on the outcome of the assault charges.
At least for now, it appears that Marvel fans are not all that impressed with his latest on-camera appearance.
What do you think? Did the public jump to the wrong conclusion on the Jonathan Majors fight video? Should Marvel keep him as Kang? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!