The U.S. Army has made the decision to distance itself, at least for the time being, from Jonathan Majors. The decision comes on the heels of the news of the actor’s recent arrest in connection with a domestic dispute.
The uniformed service enlisted Majors, 33, for its newest “Be All You Can Be” ad campaign that launched during the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
Two commercials had been released when the “Lovecraft Country” lead was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman, whom TMZ reported as his girlfriend, inside a taxi cab in Manhattan on Saturday, March 25.
The 30-year-old woman reportedly had visible markings on her face and neck that were observed by New York City Police officers who responded to her 911 call and hospital staff. Majors was immediately arrested and taken to jail. He was released shortly afterward with a limited protection order put in place.
As news of the alleged assault broke, the Army paused the ads. According to Variety, the armed service branch spent millions on the campaign in hopes it would help their recruitment efforts after last year’s numbers dropped 22 percent.
“The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest,” said Laura DeFrancisco, the public affairs chief for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office, in a statement Sunday.
“While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”
In one ad, Majors is featured as an on-screen narrator trekking alongside troops in various settings. He says, “If you see obstacles ahead you, take a closer look at this force that’s been overcoming them for almost 250 years. Or you can draw strength from those beside you and make your own history.”
The Yale-trained thespian was likely chosen as the Army’s star amid his ascent up the ranks of Hollywood, where he has become lauded as one of the most promising stars in cinema.
This year he starred in two major box office successes, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” as Kang the Conqueror and in “Creed III” as Damian Anderson.
As his personal world, which Majors has been guarded about in interviews, becomes the subject of media and social banter, Majors’ team has vehemently defended him against the abuse claims.
“We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently,” said his Attorney, Priya Chaudhry in a released statement.
She continued, “This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations.”
His team believes the evidence will debunk claims that he strangled, struck, and harassed the woman.
Although, for some fans, the damage to his seemingly flawless image has already been done. Others, however, believe he is innocent until proven guilty.
