After a year away from the spotlight, Jonathan Majors attended his first red carpet event Sunday in Los Angeles.
With girlfriend Meagan Good by his side, the Creed III actor posed for pictures at the 7th annual AAFCA Special Achievement Awards luncheon, presented by the African American Film Critics Association.
Majors smiled and appeared at ease during his first splashy Hollywood event since he was arrested in March 2023, and found guilty of reckless assault and harassment in December.
“We are happy to be here,” Majors told Extra as he stopped for a brief interview.
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Majors and Good were guests of filmmaker Deon Taylor, who received AAFCA’s Horizon Award, recognizing talent on the rise.
“We are here tonight celebrating Deon, so we are really excited about that. He has been a mentor and a big brother to us,” said Good, who had a role in Taylor’s 2019 film, The Intruder.
When asked how they were doing, Majors responded: “In love… We’re doing good, thanks for asking.”
Good added, “We’re doing great. God’s good.”
The two sat at Taylor’s table in the Los Angeles Athletic Club, alongside the filmmaker’s family and actor Boris Kodjoe.
Tyrese Gibson and Hilary Swank presented the director with his award. Gibson spoke about being directed by Taylor in the film Black and Blue (2019). Swank led the cast of Taylor’s crime thriller, Fatale (2020).
After taking the stage, Taylor fought back tears and said he was unaware that Gibson and Swank would be at the ceremony.
The writer-director recalled his journey from growing up in a housing project in Gary, Indiana, to running Hidden Empire Film Group with his wife, Roxanne Avent.
He praised his late mother for encouraging her children to pursue their dreams, even though the family lived in poverty and at times “had no power and no food.”
“I had a mom who was a dreamer and at an early age, kept telling me, ‘you’re going to be special,'” Taylor shared.
The director said one day his mom “hit the numbers” and their lives changed.
“She won $2,500, bought us a car and she got us out of Gary,” he told the audience.
Swank wiped tears from her eyes as the filmmaker spoke.
Among the other honorees, the late Michael Latt — who founded Lead With Love, was awarded the inaugural Freedom Award. The Color Purple choreographer Fatima Robinson was presented with AAFCA’s Salute to Excellence Award. Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner received AAFCA’s Producers Award.
Nia Long, Jurnee Smollett, and Courtney B. Vance presented Foxx and Turner with the award for producing the 2023 films They Cloned Tyrone, Story Ave, and The Burial.
“This means a lot, especially coming from us,” Foxx said.
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