Michael B. Jordan covers the March issue of GQ. He’s promoting his latest movie, Sinners, set in the 1930s Jim Crow South. It’s not exactly a historical drama, they just that as a backdrop for supernatural horror. When the trailer for Sinners came out, people joked that it looked like something Jonathan Majors was originally supposed to do, because Majors was known for enjoying vintage clothing, etc. Majors and Jordan worked together before Majors’ arrest and trial for domestic violence, and Jordan has avoided speaking about Majors publicly in recent years. He broke his silence in this GQ piece, and I found it disappointing as hell. Michael B. Jordan is such a talent, and he’s so smart about his celebrity-branding and his PR, but he really shot himself in the foot with this interview. Some highlights from GQ:
He’s not doing projects for the money: “It’s a lot easier for me to say no [to projects]. Look, if I was only moving for profit, my résumé would look a lot different. It’d have six more projects on there. [Producers] will see you in something and be like, Oh yeah, you would be great for this, because of this. It’s like, You want me to do that, again? That’s sometimes boring for us, you know?”
His history with Jonathan Majors: During the long promo rollout for Creed III, Jordan spoke often of the bond he’d formed with his costar Jonathan Majors, whose next-big-thing energy was surging thanks to another blockbuster opening that year meant to center him as a major character in the MCU. Majors’s rise came to a screeching halt soon thereafter, after an incident with his then girlfriend left him facing trial on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges. When Majors was found guilty of one count of reckless assault in the third degree and a charge of harassment as a violation (he was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree), Marvel and other big studios scuttled their plans for him, and he went from ascendant leading man to pariah.
How he feels about Majors now: Today, sitting on the edge of the pool table, he solemnly recalls that it was a “tough situation” to watch unfold. “But he’s doing great, just got engaged. I’m proud of his resilience and his strength through it all, and [his] handling [of] it. I’m glad he’s good. That’s my boy,” Jordan says. Would you work with him again? “Yes. Yes.”
He’s 38 & still childfree: “Like, my dad had two kids at this age, you know what I’m saying? But you got to realize, the time you do put in, you’re building something solid.” If he had carved out time to build a family of his own by now, I offer, his head-down approach to tackling all things would mean either home or work would end up shortchanged. “And that is my perspective on raising [my stop date] a little bit. Just because I’m competitive, and I know I would want to be the best dad. But right now, I’m trying to do my best at this part [of my life] as well.”
His longest relationship—he doesn’t name names—lasted just over a year. The tone of his voice suggests he wasn’t shocked it didn’t go longer. “I’m not tripping over it. I’m so work focused. I would want somebody to fit into the flow of my life, of where I am. And that’s timing, right? You can meet the right person, and be at the wrong time, and it just doesn’t work out. I think the person that’s going to be right for me lines up with the timing with who she is as a person, where I’m at in my life, how open I am to even…to that, you know?”
The year-long relationship he references is about Lori Harvey, and despite his attitude right now, she dumped him and he was sort of devastated about it. I don’t think he’s been in a serious relationship since Lori (that ended in 2022). As for what he says about Majors… it f–king sucks. Like, it really changes my view on Jordan, that he watched the Majors situation unfold and all of those stories come out about Majors’ abusive behavior, and he’s like “that’s my boy.” I’m not saying Mike is as bad as Jonathan Majors or anything, but what a horrible way to speak about a man who assaulted a woman until she lost consciousness and has a trail of victims going back to his college days.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, cover courtesy of GQ.
