The U.S. Army has put its advertising campaign featuring actor Jonathan Majors on hold after his arrest on Saturday for an alleged domestic violence incident. The campaign, called “Be All You Can Be,” features Jonathan Majors as the on-screen narrator. It was intended to help the Army rebound after its worst recruiting year in recent history.
The Army has removed the two commercials featuring Majors as the narrator from its ad rotation, but it plans to continue running other ads in the campaign. The organization will maintain its digital presence and continue to feature prominently in broadcasts of the NCAA March Madness tournament.
In a statement, Army Enterprise Marketing Office public affairs chief Laura DeFrancisco said,
The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest. We recently released two ads in which Mr. Majors appears. While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”
Majors, known for his role in Marvel’s “Loki” series and the upcoming film “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” was arrested in New York City on domestic violence allegations after a dispute with a 30-year-old woman. The woman was taken to the hospital with “minor injuries to her head and neck,” according to authorities.
Majors was charged with misdemeanours.
It includes two counts of third-degree assault, second-degree aggravated harassment, and lesser charges of attempted third-degree assault. However, his legal representation has denied the charges and argued that he is “completely innocent.”
Majors’ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, released a statement on Sunday, claiming that the actor is the victim of a domestic altercation for which he was arrested. Chaudhry said that they are,
…quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”
She also said that they have video footage, witness testimony, and two written statements from the woman recanting the allegations. Despite this, the District Attorney has requested a full order of protection be put in place. This indicates the need for further protection from Majors. A spokesperson for the actor denied any wrongdoing and said that they look forward to clearing his name.
The alleged incident has also resulted in the U.S. Army distancing itself from Majors and suspending its advertising campaign featuring him until the investigation is complete.
