Just six months ago, Jonathan Majors was convicted of domestic assault and harassment, but that didn’t stop the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards from honoring him with the “Perseverance Award” on Friday night in Beverly Hills.
“I’m imperfect. I have shortcomings — I acknowledge them,” Majors said during lengthy remarks after being presented with the award by self-help guru and inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant.
Majors continuously denied all allegations throughout his 19-day trial, but in April, the “Creed III” actor was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling. Per the ruling of a NY judge, Majors must complete a 52-week, in-person program in Los Angeles, where he currently resides.
Onstage at the awards ceremony, Majors was tearful as he reflected on that experience.
“Perseverance means what?” he said. “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.”
He continued, “We live in a world where men, Black men in particular, are propped up as either superheroes or supervillains. 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.”
The actor’s legal troubles significantly impacted his fast-rising star. Majors was slated to star as Kang the Conqueror in the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following appearances in “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania” and “Loki,” but he was dropped from all future MCU films on the day the verdict was announced. Other movie roles disappeared too, including a buzzy movie where he’d portray Dennis Rodman. Majors had previously been dropped by his manager at Entertainment 360 and his publicity firm, the Lede Company, following his March 2023 arrest. (He remains repped by the talent agency WME.)
However, in the spirit of the “perseverance” that the Hollywood Unlocked award suggests, on Thursday, it was announced that Majors landed the lead role in Martin Villeneuve’s revenge thriller “Merciless,” his first new project since the conviction.
“There will be moments in your life where things get dark. And I mean really dark. … And I’ve seen that darkness in myself,” he said. “I’ve sat in that pitch black and what I’ve learned is that when you catch a glimpse of light, you run as hard and as fast as you can towards it. And I will never take that light for granted again.”
Tiffany Haddish returned as host for the 4th annual Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Other honorees include Cardi B (the inspiration award), Jasmine Crockett (the social impact award), civil rights attorney Ben Crump (the community award), designer Christian Louboutin (the innovation award), Fat Joe (the culture award), and Da Brat and Jessica Harris-Dupart (the spirit award). Although there was no perseverance award recipient at the 2023 ceremony, celebrated actor and singer Jenifer Lewis was honored with the award in 2022.
The awards ceremony is hardly Majors’ first Hollywood appearance post-controversy. In March, he attended the 7th Annual AAFCA Special Achievement Awards luncheon with girlfriend Meagan Good; the couple also walked the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards.
More to come…
Source Agencies
