Disney has been accused of cynically clinging to its investment in Jonathan Majors by lining up a career-saving interview for the disgraced Marvel star after his conviction for beating up his girlfriend.
The actor who plays Kang the Conqueror in the multi-billion dollar franchise will have a prime slot on the Disney-owned GMA for an interview with ABC News anchor Linsey Davis on Monday, just weeks after the studio claimed it would no longer work with him.
And extended versions of the interview will also run on GMA3 and ABC News’ Prime, with ABC’s Nightline broadcasting more unaired segments three days later on Disney owned Hulu.
The move has left industry watchers appalled at the cynicism of a company that generated nearly $90 billion in revenue last year.
‘Disney own this news channel, so they basically fired him because he was found guilty, but now they’re giving him a platform so they can gauge the public opinion on him,’ tweeted @isthatscully.
The Marvel star appears to wipe tears away in a trailer for Monday’s GMA interview on ABC
‘Do you think you’ll ever work in Hollywood again?’ ABC News anchor Linsey Davis asks him
Majors was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari (pictured together in September 2022) last month, leaving his promising Hollywood career in doubt
‘If he does well enough, he’ll probably be rehired. Very Black Mirror.’
‘Why would Disney set up an interview with Jonathan Majors if they had no interest in bringing him back and why would majors take that interview if there wasn’t a huge benefit to taking it,’ added @tydriscoll.
‘To me this shows that Disney plans on rehiring him.’
Majors was being lined up as the linchpin of the next chapter in the superhero universe, but his future in Hollywood was left in limbo following his conviction.
The 34-year-old faces possible jail time at his sentencing next month after he was found guilty on December 18 of one count of harassment and one of assault against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari, 30.
‘Magazine Dreams’, his film about a troubled bodybuilder which was tipped for an Oscar, was shelved, and in a trailer for the GMA interview he says that the aftermath of his high-profile trial ‘has been hard.’
‘Why did you decide you wanted to talk now?’ Davis asks him.
‘Do you think you’ll ever work in Hollywood again?’
His conviction stemmed from a March 2023 incident with Jabbari in downtown Manhattan, when the two erupted in a furious row after she saw a flirty text message from another woman on his phone.
Video, shown to court in December, shows Jabbari and Majors scuffling on the street
Majors had been set to spearhead the next chapter of the Marvel universe as ‘Kang the Conqueror’, however he was dropped by Marvel following his arrest
Majors was acquitted of a charge of assault with intent to cause physical injury
Jabbari testified that she was left in ‘excruciating’ pain after the movie star struck her on the head and broke her finger in the back of an SUV during the fight.
Surveillance footage also showed the two continuing the scuffle on the streets of Manhattan, where Jabbari was seen chasing Majors before more pushing and shoving.
At his trial, a slew of damning evidence was shown to jurors, which also included an audio recording of Majors berating Jabbari during an argument for not living up to the standards of Michelle Obama and Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King.
California-born Majors, 34, graduated from Yale with an acting masters, and he rose to fame after starring in the 2019 independent feature film The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has invested billions of dollars in the Marvel franchise
He went on to perform in HBO’s Lovecraft Country, receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, before starring as supervillain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Universe, and Dame Anderson in Creed III this year.
Jurors were tasked with examining conflicting narratives about whether Majors was the aggressor or the victim during the chaotic SUV struggle with Jabbari in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on March 25.
They took three days to reach a guilty verdict for assault recklessly causing physical injury – but cleared him of assault with intent to cause physical injury.
The $30 billion grossed by the 33 Marvel films is unsurpassed in movie history, and the franchise’s ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ starring Majors had a strong start when it was released in February.
But it became one of the few not to turn a profit amid a wave of bad publicity from Major’s arrest the following month.
Some film fans accused Disney of being too clever for its own good with its apparent offer of rehabilitation for Majors.
‘Is the Jonathon Majors interview a set up or a 4d chess move from Disney to rehire him?’ asked @WeBuildMechs.
In her testimony, Jabbari said that she felt ‘excruciating’ pain as Majors twisted her fingers to grab his phone back after she took it from him
Evidence shown to court reveals Jabbari’s swollen finger and marks to her neck
A cut behind Jabbari’s ear was also shown to jurors at the blockbuster trial
A picture taken after one of the couple’s fights in LA when he allegedly threw a candle at Jabbari, July 9, 2022
‘They are promoting that Jonathan Majors interview HARD on TikTok,’ added at TiphSeven, ‘Disney said we recouping media traffic back one way or another.’
‘I count at MINIMUM 4 news programs that Disney will be using to monetize Jonathan Majors telling Disney how he feels about getting fired by Disney,’ wrote Jonas J Campbell.
‘Disney has invested a lot in Jonathan Majors and it’s in their interest to try to salvage that investment,’ added Dare Obasanjo.
‘The firing, subsequent interview and prodigal son return will echo James Gunn’s return if fans want it.’