On Jan. 8, 21 days after Jonathan Majors’ career was flushed down the toilet by way of a guilty assault verdict, his first post-conviction interview will air on ABC.
Majors spoke with Linsey Davis of ABC News for an interview that will premiere on “Good Morning America” Monday. The extended interview will stream on “ABC News Live Prime With Linsey Davis” at 7 p.m. EST the same day.
News of the interview surprised us because we didn’t think Majors would sit for an interview so quickly. But he hasn’t exactly proven himself a steward of good decision making: His refusal to settle matters out of court with his estranged ex Grace Jabbari got us reports that he wanted her to behave like Coretta Scott King as well as a wild foot chase video.
Our gain, but his loss. Take a cue from Diddy: If you have a bunch of mess in your closet and you know it, do your best to keep it out of open court.
That Majors was acquitted of his two most serious charges – intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree – will likely keep him out of jail. But “Jonathan Majors Guilty” headlines have proven Kryptonite for his career – especially since the money-printing machine Marvel Studios was hovering over his termination button like a game of Whac-a-Mole, firing him within the first half-hour following the verdict.
Still, Majors can rebound from this at some point; his interview with Davis – while premature – could go a long way toward making that happen if he doesn’t blow it. The interview is in the can, but here are a few things we should – and should not – hear from him Monday.
Don’t attempt to downplay the abuse
Regardless of the case’s denouement, Majors would still have a scarlet A-for-abuse hanging on him, thanks to viral accusations on social media from people in his past and a damning 2023 Rolling Stone article.
The worst thing he could do with Davis is get defensive or say something along the lines of, “Aweee I just messed her finger up. She wasn’t hurt that bad.” Assault is assault, and the world doesn’t want to hear Majors diminish harm he did to a woman – especially a white woman.
Play up the Meagan Good angle
We’re all still a bit shocked that the dream woman of every straight Black man under 45 has not only been with Majors throughout the trial (complete with cheddar bay biscuit dates!) but has been by his side during his court dates.
We all love an authentic Black love story, so Majors should be as saccharine as possible during the interview to play up the relationship. It might endear him to Black folks once again and allay studios’ concerns that he’s still on his abusive shit. It’d be even better if she popped up at some point during the interview.
Clear up that whole sprinting-across-New-York piece
Easily the most ridiculous – and funniest – part of an otherwise unfunny trial is every closed-circuit camera in New York capturing Majors running away from Jabbari. Out of context, I would’ve assumed video of this little blonde lady running from this yoked Black dude was from a sketch comedy scene.
Majors needs to navigate this very carefully: If he lets on that he was literally afraid of a skinny white lady, he could lose access to his tough-guy roles forever. He needs to do the tight rope walk of making clear that he was doing what he could to avoid further conflict without bashing Jabbari.
Announce that he’s putting in work to improve
Verbal mea culpas go only so far with the public – we want to see people take measurable steps to do better. Majors naturally carries himself with an air of cockiness, which is great for a brooding Hollywood star but no good when everyone is convinced that he beats on women.
He needs to ensure Davis that he’s been seeing a therapist, or is in anger management courses, or is donating money to a battered women’s shelter, or all of the above. He could also throw in that he sages a room with bad energy or grabs his ears and says, “woosah” when he feels himself getting angry, or something. A simple “my bad, y’all” will not get Hollywood to let him back in the door.