Who does Jonathan Majors think he is?

Weeks after being found guilty of assaulting and harassing former girlfriend Grace Jabbari, actor Jonathan Majors is ready to talk. He sat down with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis to discuss what happened the night of the assault, the verdict, and his future.

Awaiting sentencing next month on misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment, Majors maintained his innocence, though he said he was “reckless with [Jabbari’s] heart, not with her body.” So, it was clear this exit interview was aimed at rehabbing his image, which had taken a hit since Marvel Studios dropped him from upcoming film projects after the verdict was announced. But that goal quickly got overshadowed once Majors mentioned humanitarian and civil rights icon Coretta Scott King.

When asked about the support of his current girlfriend, actor Megan Good, who has been seen publicly by Majors’ side for months, the Creed III star said, “She’s an angel. She’s held me down like … like a Coretta, you know?” Appearing to choke back tears, Majors continued, “I’m so blessed to have her.”

The public was first made aware of Majors’ desire to be paired with “a Coretta” when audio was released of Majors berating Jabbari, a white British dancer, for not being more like King and former first lady Michelle Obama. According to Majors himself, he’s “a great man,” and is “doing great things, not just for me, but for my, for my culture and the world” and deserves that caliber of support.

It all begs the question: Who does Jonathan Majors think he is?

While he’s a fantastic actor who many of us were looking forward to watching ascend the ranks of Hollywood stardom, he is not a leader, and we weren’t asking him to be. Many of us were grateful he discussed the expansiveness of Black masculinity (though after his arrest, I wondered if it was all a ruse). But Majors isn’t putting his life on the line for Black liberation in the ways King and her husband Martin Luther King Jr. did. And this isn’t to discount the rich legacy of Black artists and celebrities who have supported and worked alongside Black leaders and activists. But what makes Majors even worthy of a woman like King?

Governmental agencies conspired to destroy Martin Luther King and didn’t care whether his family’s physical and emotional well-being would be collateral damage in the war against him. Former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover waged a yearslong campaign against him, keeping him under constant surveillance, infiltrating his organization with informants, and attempting to shame him into suicide. Meanwhile, there is no governmental conspiracy to destroy Majors. He was not trying to take us to some cinematic promised land. He hasn’t put his life on the line for our collective freedoms. He is not Martin Luther King, Good is not Coretta Scott King, and that’s OK.

It’s OK because the legacy of King cannot be reduced to just some ride-or-die chick who stands by her man. An accomplished singer, King organized and performed in concerts across the South in the 1960s to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout her life, she remained outspoken about the need for racial and economic justice and women’s and gay rights. King was a force in her own right and deserves more respect from Majors and people who think like him. Moreover, women are not ornamental to “great men.” We are whole people, much more than support systems for the men we love. Reducing the likes of King or any Black woman to secondary roles in their partner’s lives continues to advance the “race first” ideology that is killing us.

It’s an ideology that would be laughable coming from Majors if it weren’t so insulting. While Black women readily recognized Majors as an attractive, rising star, we also knew his love for us didn’t necessarily extend to public romantic relationships. His most prominent partnerships, including with the mother of his child and Jabbari, have all been with non-Black women. Sisters didn’t see Majors publicly date a Black woman until after he was arrested for assaulting a white one.

Perhaps that was the greatest insult of all: the belief that Black women should automatically support Majors because he was allegedly a victim of a white woman’s lie and an unjust criminal justice system. People also went to extremes, comparing him to Emmett Till, a lynching victim. Ironically, many of the same people who couldn’t stand Majors during his Creed III press run — especially when his Ebony magazine cover dropped in February 2023. When the Valentine’s Day-themed shoot hit social media, many claimed it was just another example of emasculating Black men. Following his arrest a month later, some of his previous critics became his fiercest advocates.

And Black women were supposed to fall in line. Never mind that we are more likely to be victims of domestic violence than our non-Black counterparts. Never mind we know that, if white women aren’t safe, then there is absolutely no refuge for us. According to some, we’re supposed to support Majors because he had Good supporting him. And while I adore Good, I was sad when she walked into court with her new boo and stood by him as he stood trial.

Love notwithstanding, it’s hard to see sisters sacrifice all they’ve worked for in service of ideologies that wouldn’t sacrifice a thing for them. And in service of men who, despite their accomplishments, see these same accomplished Black women as interchangeable with the white women they once adored and no longer have any use for.

Whoever Majors is dating, regardless of race and ethnicity, must become his Coretta — not because they are powerful women in their own right, which she was. But because he sees himself as a powerful and important man. 

When it comes to loving the former Kang, it’s clear that being compared to one of the greatest women who ever lived is not a compliment.