Jonathan Majors breaks down in tears during acceptance speech: “I’m imperfect”

Jonathan Majors fought back tears as he accepted a ‘Perseverance Award’ in Los Angeles this week, admitting that he is “imperfect”.

The actor was sentenced in April to one year of domestic violence counselling after he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Following a two-week trial, he was ordered to complete a 52-week in-person program in Los Angeles. Majors has always denied the assault allegations.

The 34-year-old actor avoided prison time for the offence, which would have seen him incarcerated for one year.

Now, Majors has been honoured with the ‘Perseverance Award’ by Hollywood Unlocked, an entertainment media organisation, and he used his acceptance speech to offer some introspective thoughts.

“I’m imperfect. I have shortcomings — I acknowledge them,” he said, tearfully.

“Perseverance means what? Perseverance means persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay. And the God I serve has put me in a position where I’ve had to embody that word more than I wished or wanted.”

“We live in a world where men, Black men in particular, are propped up as either superheroes or supervillains,” he added. “But I’ve come to realize, me, personally, I ain’t none of that. … I’m just that guy whose faith has been tested. It has been strengthened by this testimony.”

Majors went on to thank those who have stood by him during his legal troubles, including his mother, girlfriend, sisters and daughter, as well as high profile friends including Will Smith, Tyler Perry and David Oyelowo.

It comes just days after it emerged that Majors had landed his first film role since the conviction.

He will star in the independent revenge thriller Merciless, which will be helmed by Martin Villeneuve, the younger brother of Dune director Denis Villeneuve. Filming is expected to begin in Saskatchewan, Canada in autumn.

Before his arrest in March 2023, Majors’ star status was on the rise, having appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Creed III, as well as the Emmy-winning TV series Lovecraft Country.

Following the guilty verdict, Marvel Studios severed ties with Majors, who played the new central villain, Kang the Conqueror, in the MCU. He was expected to appear in a number of upcoming films in the comic book franchise, including 2026’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Majors was also dropped by his management company, Entertainment 360, as well as his publicity firm, the Lede Company.

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