Jonathan Majors revealed in a new interview that he was the victim of sexual abuse “from both men and women” from the age of 9.
The 35-year-old actor was considered one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars prior to his December 2023 conviction for assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
In April 2024, he was sentenced to a year in an in-person batterer intervention program in Los Angeles, California. Several of his major film projects were also cancelled, with Marvel moving away from positioning his character Kang as their next antagonist and renaming 2026’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday,
Speaking in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Majors said that in addition to the domestic violence program, he also underwent therapy which brought up childhood trauma he had not confronted.
“I dealt with sexual abuse from both men and women from the time I was 9,” said Majors. “From people who are supposed to look after you, in the absence of a father. I was f***ed up.”
Majors’s father, who was in the Air Force, had left the family when his son was 8. Majors says he only recently spoke to his mother about what had happened to him, and that she apologized for being unable to protect him.
“I’m like, ‘It’s not even an issue, mom. I just want you to know. And now we can all get busy and continue to connect and grow and learn from it, because it’s something that was in our family,’” said Majors.
He added: “There are no excuses, but by getting help, you begin to understand things about yourself.”
Majors is currently promoting Magazine Dreams, a sports drama which is finally set to be released two years after the film was dropped by its original distributor following the actor’s assault conviction.
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The film, directed by Elijah Bynum, stars Majors as Killian Maddox, an aspiring bodybuilder who abuses steroids in his quest for recognition.
In the movie’s first teaser, Killian is shown going to great lengths to achieve his dream of being named Mr. Olympia, the international bodybuilding champion.
Last month, Creed star Michael B Jordan said he was “proud” of Majors and that he would work with the actor again despite his assault conviction.
The pair starred together as rivals in Creed III in 2023.
Speaking to GQ, Jordan, 38, said: “He’s doing great, just got engaged. I’m proud of his resilience and his strength through it all, and his handling of it. I’m glad he’s good. That’s my boy…”
“Yes. Yes”, added Jordan after being asked if he would work with the Majors in the future.
