Rising Hollywood star Jonathan Majors is in the midst of a PR nightmare and must take control of the narrative if he wants to salvage his acting career.
Majors, who has appeared in Disney’s Marvel franchise and “Creed III,” was convicted this week on one count of reckless assault in the third degree and a non-criminal charge of harassment in the domestic violence case involving former girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Majors was acquitted on another assault charge and one count of aggravated harassment.
The Marvel star should point out that these charges are misdemeanors and fight to tell his side of the story if he wants to save his budding acting career.
Clearly, Majors is paying the price for his silence during the trial. Jabbari testified under oath, but Majors did not. He also did not hire a public relations firm to bolster his image, which was a big mistake.
Telling your own side of the story in your own voice instead of responding to someone else’s version of the truth is always best. Now Majors is faced with responding to Jabbari’s account of the assault in the wake of his conviction and previous silence.
That he was charged is not necessarily game over but Majors must take proactive measures to get his truth out, which will be tricky. Majors may not be able to say much until he is sentenced in February, but he needs to downplay the seriousness of what he was charged with, and provide framing and perspective so his image is not cemented in people’s minds as a woman beater.
It’s possible because he and his ex-girlfriend had very different perceptions of the seriousness of the altercation that resulted in charges. Majors should not allow her account of the incident to be the only account out there.
Majors should use the coming weeks to prepare a thoughtful PR strategy which can be employed regardless of the direction taken by the jury.
Great scrutiny will accompany every word that he utters publicly in the aftermath of the sentencing, so he needs to get it right and strike the right tone between being apologetic and remorseful while at the same time downplaying his actions toward his former girlfriend.
And Majors needs to act fast. From a reputation standpoint, the sooner he works again the better.
Evan Nierman is founder and CEO of the crisis communications firm Red Banyan and author of Amazon bestsellers Crisis Averted and The Cancel Culture Curse: From Rage to Redemption in a World Gone Mad.