This weekend, Jonathan Majors, the star of box office juggernauts Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Creed III, was arrested and charged with “assault, strangulation and harassment” as reported by NPR.
According to the NYPD, they responded to a call from an apartment in the neighborhood of Chelsea over a domestic dispute between a man and woman, where the woman said she was assaulted. In a statement to NPR, A spokesperson from the NYPD said:
“Officers placed the 33-year-old male into custody without incident. The victim sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition.”
Immediately, numerous posts popped up on social media from people in the entertainment industry, alleging Majors has a history of violence and abuse. Meanwhile, one of Majors’ representatives and his criminal defense attorney both deny wrongdoing and claim they have video evidence, witness statements, and two written statements from the alleged victim recanting her allegations, saying they expect the charges to be dropped quickly.
While the news of this arrest is horrifying for obvious reasons, the online discourse surrounding Majors has been skewed by fans and critics alike, not towards sympathy for the victim or how we should be advocating for resources for domestic abuse victims, but towards the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how many Creed jokes one person can make. Writer/actor Anna María explained the scope of the discourse perfectly in some tweets made on the day of the arrest.
This isn’t the first time fans have put themselves at the forefront of a serious topic. When beloved actor Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away due to cancer, MCU fans were quick to tweet out their questions about who would be taking over Boseman’s role as Black Panther just hours after his death was announced. When Johnny Depp was accused of domestic abuse by Amber Heard, Fantastic Beasts fans were outraged that he wouldn’t be returning to the role of Grindelwald in what would be the final installment of the franchise. It’s not unusual to see fans care more about the movies/shows a controversial actor is a part of than the harm they’ve committed. That in of itself is quite disturbing.
And, on the other end of the spectrum, fans are also quick to say they “always knew something was off” about a celebrity accused of a crime or that the celebrity in question “broke their heart/betrayed them.” The reactions on either end are rooted in a refusal to recognize that there are very real people at the center of these stories. At the end of the day, the repercussions of these despicable actions don’t directly impact the fans or their feelings—they affect those harmed by the person’s actions.
Let’s try to do better as a whole, not just for ourselves, but for those survivors who need support now more than ever. In the famed words from the iconic show Reba: “There are millions of planets revolving around millions of suns revolving around millions of galaxies all revolving around one point in the center of the universe—and that point is not you.”
(featured image: Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage)
