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The driver who was in the car during Jonathan Majors’ alleged attack on his ex-girlfriend testified the Marvel actor “was not doing anything,” but while jumping out of a car they were traveling in, Majors attempted “to throw [his ex] in the car.”
Naveed Sarwar took the stand on Monday during the second week of the 34-year-old’s domestic violence trial in New York. Majors was arrested on March 25 following an altercation with professional dancer Grace Jabbari after she witnessed him receive a romantic text from another woman and grabbed his phone. Majors allegedly twisted Jabbari’s arm behind her back, squeezed her fingers, and struck her in the back of her head, before shoving her back into the car when she tried to follow him.
Majors —who has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty —was charged with four misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment, and faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
Sarwar was the only other person in the car during the alleged attack and spoke through an Urdu interpreter. Prior to his testimony, his account of the night had been used both by the DA’s office and Majors’ defense as potential evidence backing each of their versions of events.
Sarwar told prosecutors he was looking ahead when the fight broke out and didn’t directly see anything while Majors and Jabbari were allegedly fighting for Majors’ phone. But based on his recollection of what he could hear, Sarwar told the court that “many things were happening” and he “had the feeling the girl had hit the boy … because of the way that she was fighting, and the sounds produced.” “He was not doing anything,” he added. “She was doing everything.”
At several points during Sarwar’s testimony, Judge Michael Gaffey reminded him to “testify to what is happening, not what you think happened,” according to People. Later on, when Majors exited the car —video surveillance previously shown in court appeared to show Majors picking up Jabbari and shoving her back into the car —Sarwar claimed Majors was “trying to throw” and “trying to push” Jabbari back into the car. “He was trying to get rid of her.”
Majors seemed pleased with Sarwar’s testimony, smiling for the first time in court with his attorneys. Still, Sarwar’s testimony was not exactly how prosecutors and the defense presented his recollection of events. During opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Michael Perez claimed Sarwar described Majors allegedly shoving Jabbari into the car “like a football,” while Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry claimed Sarwar said Jabbari was a “psycho girl.”
And in court documents filed in October, prosecutors pointed to a written first-person statement Chaudhry had previously provided to the court purportedly from Sarwar. Prosecutors claim that based on interview notes they reviewed, Sarwar did not make some of the claims being attributed to him. “This statement said Mr. Sarwar saw Ms. Jabbari slap the defendant, ‘tussle with’ the defendant, and that the defendant ‘gently’ placed Ms. Jabbari in the vehicle,” according to the 115-page court filing. “The People showed Mr. Sarwar this statement and he stated he had never written it, approved it, did not previously know it existed, and that the above statements were all false.”
Majors’ trial is now stretching into its second week. It is not clear if Majors will take the stand and testify. Last week, Jabbari testified for four days about the couple’s tumultuous relationship that began after meeting on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2021. She alleged Majors had an explosive temper, was controlling, would throw glass objects around her, and threatened to kill himself in the aftermath of such fights.
Following an incident in September 2022, Majors allegedly discouraged Jabbari from receiving treatment for a head injury, and threatened to harm himself if she went to the hospital. “Last night I considered killing myself versus coming home,” Majors texted Jabbari, according to messages shown in court: “I need love too. Or maybe I’m such a monster and horrible man, I don’t deserve it. And I should just kill myself. In this way, my existence is miserable, I want to die.”
The night of the alleged fight, Jabbari sustained a fractured finger, bruising about her body, a laceration behind her right ear, and a bump on her head. Jabbari testified that she felt “substantial pain,” but tried not to focus on it, referencing her experience as a professional dancer and once dancing with a broken rib.
The case is expected to stretch at least another week. Although Rolling Stone previously reported that prosecutors had obtained testimonies from several women who previously dated Majors, who have alleged he was physically and/or emotionally abusive to them during their relationships, it is unclear if they will make their way into the trial. (A dozen sources told Rolling Stone in June that Majors had a history of domestic violence with two previous romantic partners. Majors denied that he was ever abusive in any relationships.)
It is also unclear if a London police report from September 2022 — which resulted in Jabbari receiving medical care — will make its way into court. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to Rolling Stone in November that there is an ongoing investigation into the incident that included allegations of “physical assaults.”
Before his March arrest, Majors was on track to have his biggest year yet, following the releases Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He was also receiving early Oscar buzz for his performance as a lonely bodybuilder with violent fantasies in Magazine Dreams. However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release. All that seems to be left on Majors’ calling card is Marvel, who was planning on centering the next edition of the franchise on Majors’ character, the multiverse villain Kang the Conqueror, starting with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026.
