Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend collapsed on the stand in a packed Manhattan courtroom Thursday, suddenly rising from the witness stand in tears amid harsh questions about her conversation with police hours after she was attacked by the actor in the back of a chauffeur-driven car. car.
Grace Jabbari, who had been on the stand for three days in connection with the March 25 incident, stood and asked for a break before fleeing to the witness room outside the courtroom. As the door closed, Jabbari could be heard crying as Majors stared from the defense table across the room.
She returned several minutes later, apologized for getting angry and begged not to watch the police body camera footage that had initially caused her to cry.
“Should I?” Jabbari asked defense lawyer Priya Chowdhury to direct her to watch footage of the moment the authorities woke her inside her apartment in Chelsea.
Jabbari continued to cry as she watched the video again to answer questions about how she was initially cautious with police about the alleged altercation. Despite the sounds of the video, which showed officers talking to Jabbari in a closet, Jabbari cried again, putting her arm over her head.
The video is among several that Choudary showed to Al-Jabbari in a difficult interrogation that also included questions about her precise movements after the attack, questions that were so detailed that they included whether she had used lemons to take her tequila shot.
“I have to refresh my memory,” Jabbari, wearing a polka-dot jacket and hair in a ponytail, said in response to that question.
Chowdhury also questioned the 30-year-old choreographer, who dated Majors for two years, about how many glasses of champagne she had, whether anyone held her hand, and whether she danced near the DJ booth.
“Yes, not well,” Jabbari replied, laughing.
Jabbari previously testified that the altercation began after she took Majors’ phone to get a better look at a troubling text message. In response, she claims Majors threw himself on top of her, grabbed her arm and put it behind her back.
She said Majors twisted her arm and finger before leaving the car and pushing her back inside. Jabbari said that after another argument, she went to a bar with some strangers who helped her, while Majors went to another bar.
On Thursday, Chaudhry also asked Jabbari whether she got out of the car before Majors, whether Majors chased her, and whether she was happy with the strangers she met on a Manhattan street.
After Chaudhry played a video of Jabbari running after Majors as he got out of the car, Jabbari began crying on the stand and asked for a break. Majors did not move when Al-Jabbari left with a tissue over her face.
At another point, the defense lawyer asked Jabbari if she had scratches on her face on the night of the alleged attack. Jabbari responded that she didn’t think so, prompting Chowdhury to question how she wouldn’t have known about the scratches if she had washed her face, she testified Wednesday.
This led to controversy over disinfection systems. Jabbari confirmed that she washed her face with makeup remover, then explained that it was a face wash and water when Chundry investigated further.
“You just said makeup remover, now face wash,” Choudhary insisted, prompting Jabbari to explain that face wash removes makeup.
Prosecutors say Majors returned to their apartment in the morning, where he found Jabbari and called 911. Jabbari previously testified that she was “completely exhausted” when she woke up and found multiple officers inside her apartment.
Majors has pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanors in connection with the March 25 domestic dispute. In his opening statements, Chowdhury said Majors was the victim that night because he was the only person leaving the car with a “bloody cut, a scratch and a fright.”
