Jonathan Majors admits to strangling ex-girlfriend in recording

Jonathan Majors recently launched a reputation rehabilitation tour, aided by a pretty friendly profile in The Hollywood Reporter and the support of some powerful Hollywood friends. (Michael B. Jordan, Whoopi Goldberg, and Matthew McConaughey are quoted in the piece.) But the specter of his domestic violence conviction continues to hang over the actor, today manifesting in the release of a newly surfaced audio in which Majors admits to strangling his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. 

Rolling Stone, which has reported extensively on the case against Majors as well as other allegations of emotional and physical abuse from his past, obtained the audio and published it on March 17. The recording, which concerns an incident between the couple that occurred in 2022, goes as follows, per the outlet’s transcription:

“‘I’m ashamed I’ve ever—’ Majors begins, before cutting himself off. ‘I’ve never [been] aggressive with a woman before. I’ve never aggressed a woman—I aggressed you.’

‘You strangled me and pushed me against the car,’ Jabbari interjects.

‘Yes, all those things are under “aggressed,” yeah.’ Majors responds. ‘That’s never happened to me.’

‘Because I said something sarcastically, in your eyes?’ Jabbari says. 

‘Well clearly, it’s more than that,’ Majors says.

‘Something inside of you,’ Jabbari says.

‘Yeah, towards you,’ Majors agrees, before the recording ends.”

It was revealed during the 2023 trial that Jabbari made audio recordings of Majors at times throughout their seemingly volatile relationship; one, in which he demanded his partner be supportive like “Coretta Scott King,” was played in court. However, most of their past altercations outside of the 2023 incident at hand were barred from the proceedings by the judge. Details of the 2022 altercation, in which Majors allegedly “picked Grace up in the air and threw her against the hood of her car,” were revealed in Jabbari’s civil lawsuit against Majors for defamation. “Grace began shouting for help,” the filing stated (via Rolling Stone). “Majors then forcefully grabbed Grace, placing her in a headlock, and put his hand over her mouth to prevent someone from hearing her cries for help. He brought Grace back into their house and held his hands around her neck, stating that he wanted to kill her, and that he was going to kill her. Majors then started hitting Grace’s head against the marble floor while strangling her until she felt she could no longer breathe.”

The ex-couple settled the civil suit, leaving both presumably unable to publicly comment on the specifics of their relationship. However, in an interview with Good Morning America in 2024, Jonathan Majors asserted he had “never hit a woman,” adding, “My hands have never struck a woman, ever.” The new recording, in addition to Jabbari’s testimony and that of his other ex-partners that have alleged abuse, would seem to contradict that claim.