The U.S. Army paused the new ad campaign featuring actor Jonathan Majors after he was arrested on Saturday in New York City. The Creed III star allegedly assaulted a woman in a taxi. He denied the allegations through his publicist, and his defense attorney later claimed there is video evidence and witness testimony that will prove his innocence.
“The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest,” Army Enterprise Marketing Office spokesperson Laura DeFrancisco told the Army Times. “While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.” The Army Enterprise Marketing Office works with advertising conglomerate DDB and oversees the Army’s marketing campaigns.
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Majors, who starred in the based-on-a-true-story war movie Devotion last year, was set to appear as an on-screen narrator in the Army’s “Be All You Can Be” advertisements. It’s unclear how much money the Army could lose by putting the ads on hold, but some were planned for the 2023 NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament. The campaign was set to include in-person events in Texas during the Final Four games, and it’s unclear how or if the pause on spots with Majors will affect those plans. A 30-second commercial during the championship game reportedly costs $2.2 million this year. Service officials also couldn’t tell the Army Times if the Army could start using other “Be All You Can Be” advertisements in the works without Majors during the pause.
Majors faces charges of assault, strangulation, and harassment after he was arrested in New York City Saturday morning. The alleged victim claims Majors grabbed her, slapped her, and put her hands around her neck while they were in a taxi on their way home Friday night, sources told TMZ. The alleged victim called the police at around 11 a.m. ET Saturday in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. She was taken to a nearby hospital. Police said the case involves a “domestic dispute.” Majors was arraigned Saturday night in Manhattan criminal court and released without bail. He is due back in court in May. “He has done nothing wrong,” Majors’ publicist said Saturday. “We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
Majors’ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said Sunday that he is “completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.” She added that her team is “quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.” According to Chaudhry, there is video footage and witness testimony.
“All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever,” Chaudhry said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this incident came about because this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday. The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested. We expect these charges to be dropped soon.”
