January 27, 2024, 02:14 GMT
Updated 14 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) boss Vince McMahon has resigned following sex trafficking allegations from a former employee.
Janel Grant accuses Mr. McMahon and another ex-manager, John Laurinaitis, of sexually abusing her and trafficking her to lure wrestling talent.
Mr. McMahon, 78, said in a statement that he had made the decision to step down as chief executive of TKO, WWE's parent company.
He has denied the allegations.
“I stand by my previous statement that Ms. Grant's lawsuit is full of lies and obscene fabricated incidents that never occurred and represents a vindictive distortion of the truth,” Mr. McMahon said in a statement on Friday.
He added: “Out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO Company and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all the employees and Superstars who have helped make WWE the global leader it is today , I have decided to do so.” I am resigning from my position as chairman of the board and the TKO board with immediate effect.
In a staff memo obtained by ESPN, WWE President Nick Khan said that “Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors.”
“He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
Ms. Grant, a former WWE employee, accused Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis of selling her to other men “as a sexual means to lure world-famous wrestling talent.” The BBC could not reach Mr Laurinaitis for comment.
At the time of meeting Mr McMahon, Ms Grant was unemployed and struggling with her late parent's bankruptcy.
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. McMahon pressured her into a physical relationship and promised her a job with WWE.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Grant worked at WWE headquarters in Connecticut between 2019 and 2022.
She says she felt “trapped in an impossible situation… to submit to Mr. McMahon's sexual demands or face ruin.”
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. McMahon “expected and directed Ms. Grant to engage in sexual activity at WWE headquarters, including during work hours.”
She also accuses both defendants of sexually assaulting her at WWE headquarters in Connecticut in June 2021.
Back in 2022, the WWE board announced an investigation into an alleged $3 million (£2.5 million) settlement between Mr McMahon and a former employee with whom he had a consensual affair.
The 78-year-old was replaced as acting managing director and chairman by his daughter. In January 2023, he returned as WWE chairman following the conclusion of the investigation.
In the statement of claim filed Thursday, Ms. Grant called the WWE special committee's investigation a “sham” and accused the company of trying to “sweep the matter under the rug.” She says the committee never contacted her or requested documents from her.
Ms. Grant's lawyer, Ann Callis, said in a statement to the media that her client hopes the lawsuit will “prevent other women from becoming victims.”
Mr. McMahon has overseen WWE's evolution into a media giant with weekly content broadcast in more than 180 countries and 30 languages.