The United States Army has halted its advertising campaign starring Jonathan Majors following the actor’s arrest on Saturday for an alleged assault.
The two “Be All You Can Be” commercials with Majors as an on-screen narrator were removed from the air on Sunday, March 26. The US Army intends to run additional advertising in the campaign, as well as maintain a digital presence and a prominent place in NCAA March Madness broadcasts. On Saturday evening, advertisements featuring Majors were still airing during NCAA broadcasts.
“The U.S. Army is aware of the arrest of Jonathan Majors and we are deeply concerned by the allegations surrounding his arrest,” Army Enterprise Marketing Office public affairs chief Laura DeFrancisco confirmed in a statement. “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.”
The multi-million dollar “Be All You Can Be” campaign was largely perceived as a reinvigorated effort by the United States Army to recover from its worst recruiting year in recent history. The group enlisted approximately 45,000 people in 2022, falling 25% short of its ambitions.
Majors was arrested on domestic violence charges in New York on Saturday after a dispute with a 30-year-old woman, who was transported to the hospital with “minor injuries to her head and neck,” according to authorities.
The Marvel star was charged with offences including two counts of third-degree assault, second-degree aggravated harassment, and attempted third-degree assault. His team has disputed the allegations.
Majors’ legal representation has argued that the actor is “completely innocent.”
“We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently,” criminal defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry said Sunday morning.