Creed III star Jonathan Majors has hired a criminal defense lawyer with ties to the Real Housewives franchise, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On Sunday, New York criminal defense attorney Priya Chaudhry released a statement on behalf of Majors one day after he was taken into custody.
Chaudhry defended Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah in her criminal case accusing her of fraud. The Bravo star was sentenced to a 6.5-year sentence.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Majors was arrested over the weekend on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment.
Majors’ girlfriend called the police after an incident on Saturday morning. Sources claimed the two were returning from a bar in a taxi. The two got into an argument after Majors’ girlfriend reportedly found text messages from another woman to Majors.
The girlfriend called the police the following morning. The alleged victim had a laceration “behind her ear, redness and marks to her face.”
Majors was arrested hours later after officers determined they had probable cause.
The actor’s rep denied the allegations. She said, “He’s done nothing wrong. We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
Majors said he was “completely innocent” and his lawyer said the charges should be dropped imminently.
Chaundry said the victim has recanted her story. She said, “This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations,” Majors’ criminal defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry said in a statement. “All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever.”
Further, the lawyer accused Majors’ girlfriend of having an “emotional crisis” and claimed the actor was the victim.
Chaundry said Majors was “provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”
“Unfortunately, this incident came about because this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday,” the lawyer continued. “The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested.”