Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good arrive at court on Nov. 29, 2023, in New York.Photo:AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
On the first day ofJonathan Majors’sassault trialWednesday, the actorrolled upto the courthouse in a black SUV, dressed in a gray suit and sunglasses.
Stepping out of the vehicle, heheld out his hand firstto one of his lawyers, Priya Chaudhry, and then tohis girlfriend, actressMeagan Good.
The couple entered the courthouse hand in hand,a show of solidaritythat hasplayed out repeatedlyin the hearings leading up tothis week’s misdemeanor trialin New York County Criminal Court.
Jonathan Majors arrives at court on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in New York.AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
About Good’s support, a source who knows the couple tells PEOPLE, “Jonathan’s challenging period has further solidified their relationship.”
The actress, 42, has become a fixture in the courtroom, favoring a reserved seat in the first row behind Majors. The couple, who has been dating since the spring, got together a short time after Grace Jabbari accused Majors of physically assaulting her in Chinatown this March.
“Meagan’s courage and resilience have been an unwavering source of support for him,” the source adds, nodding to theHarlemactress’s consistent presence in court.
When the couple isn’t holding hands, Majors cups Good’s back as they walk in and out of the courtroom, standing aside to let her pass ahead of him through the doorways where reporters and photographers are queued just outside.
Thursday afternoon, the couple kissed in court before Majors made his way to the defense table.
As the trial, which is expected to last several weeks and include over a dozen witnesses, gets underway, the source tells PEOPLE the couple’s “shared love and faith in God give him incredible strength and comfort." Among the possessions theCreed IIIactor brings to court is a gold-leafed Bible.
Thursday morning, lawyers hashed through pre-trial decisions and jury selection got underway.
But while Majors kept mostly to note-taking — assigning a Post-It note to each of the first 39 potential jurors, which he spread over an opened manila folder — Good was more emotive in court.
At one point in pretrial discussions Thursday, Judge Michael Gaffey, referenced Jabbari’s October arrest, which the defense said in court they plan to use to discredit her character as a reliable accuser.
“There was an investigation done,” the judge said of prosecutors' depiction of Jabbari’s arrest. “And she had nothing to do with that investigation and it was dismissed.” (Prosecutors havedeclined to prosecuteJabbari.) Good shook her head at the characterization.
In June, Majorsfiled a complaintof his own against Jabbari, claiming she had attacked him that March morning in Chinatown, not the other way around.
The defense team has also alleged in court that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has treated Jabbari, a White woman, with preferential “benefits" in the case.
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good.Arturo Holmes/2023 Getty ; Momodu Mansaray/Getty
Arturo Holmes/2023 Getty ; Momodu Mansaray/Getty
Several women considered for the jury told the judge they had seen videos of Jabbari dancing in a club shortly after the alleged abuse took place and that based on those videos and related news coverage, they did not think they could be impartial.
Then, a White woman living in the Upper West Side said she had been the victim of domestic violence. Both Majors and Good, who were turned to her, shook their heads somberly. Later, when the woman said her daughter had been sexually abused, Good shut her eyes.
The woman said that, given her experience, she did not believe she could judge fairly and impartially in the case.
source: people.com
