A woman has accused WWE co-founder Vince McMahon, the WWE and the company's former executive John Laurinaitis of sex trafficking, physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and negligence in a lawsuit obtained by The Athletic.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and first reported by The Wall Street Journal, sheds more light on the investigation into McMahon's misconduct, which allegedly included paying women millions of dollars to talk about their experiences To keep quiet with him. One of those women, Janel Grant, is the plaintiff in this new lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Grant was introduced to McMahon by a mutual friend in the summer of 2019, amid their family and financial difficulties. McMahon offered her a job with WWE, which quickly became contingent on a sexual relationship with McMahon. Despite her initial resistance, Grant felt pressured into the relationship because of potential employment and very quickly found herself trapped in it, as McMahon warned that her career and reputation would be damaged if the news came to light.
“Based on her years of experience with McMahon, she knew that her requests to quit would, at best, be ignored or, at worst, be used to destroy her career and reputation,” the lawsuit says.
The relationship, which lasted until January 2022, subjected her to sexual acts of “extreme cruelty and degradation,” including injury, the lawsuit details, and caused her to become “distanced from and/or numb to reality.” to survive the encounters. The lawsuit alleges McMahon later implicated other people in her sexual acts, including then-WWE manager Laurinaitis, and shared photos, videos and details with other WWE employees. It is also alleged that McMahon used Grant as an incentive for an unnamed WWE wrestler to re-sign with the company. She felt like a “sex slave,” the lawsuit said.
“Today's lawsuit seeks to hold accountable two WWE executives who sexually abused and trafficked plaintiff Janel Grant, as well as the organization that enabled the abuse or turned a blind eye and then swept it under the rug,” Grants said Attorney Ann Callis in a statement distributed to the media. “She is an incredibly private and courageous person who suffered deeply at the hands of Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis. Ms. Grant hopes her lawsuit will prevent other women from becoming victims. The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s depraved behavior and it is time for it to take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership.”
WWE did not respond to a request for comment, but the company that acquired a controlling stake in it, TKO, in April 2023, said in a statement to The Athletic that it was handling the matter internally.
“Mr. McMahon does not control TKO or oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. Although this matter predates our TKO leadership team's tenure with the company, we take Ms. Grant's horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally,” the said parent company.
According to multiple reports, a spokesperson for McMahon released a statement Thursday saying, “This lawsuit is full of lies, obscene fabricated incidents that never happened, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” before adding that McMahon “will defend itself vigorously.” ”
McMahon is said to have told Grant in January 2022 that the relationship and employment had to be ended because McMahon's wife Linda had found out about the situation and it could harm him and the WWE. The lawsuit alleges that McMahon pressured Grant into signing a nondisclosure agreement and leaving the company. After resistance from Grant's attorney and a back-and-forth, Grant finally signed an NDA for $3 million. She received a $1 million payment in February 2022, but claims in the lawsuit that she did not receive the rest.
The lawsuit alleges that Grant now “lives with so much anxiety and depression that she is unable to leave her residence for weeks due to anxiety and PTSD.” It seeks a declaratory judgment that the NDA is unenforceable , compensatory damages, punitive damages and other remedies.
The WSJ first reported in June 2022 that McMahon was being investigated by WWE's board of directors after McMahon received an anonymous tip about an affair and a $3 million hush money payment. According to the WSJ, the number of reported payments later rose to over $12 million and affected at least four women. That lawsuit alleges that the anonymous tip was about the alleged relationship with Grant, but the panel's investigation did not include an interview with Grant, despite their willingness to cooperate, according to the lawsuit.
In July 2022, McMahon announced his retirement from WWE, but remained the largest shareholder. He returned to the company in January 2023 and planned to sell WWE. This happened in April 2023 when Endeavor acquired a majority stake in WWE to merge with Ultimate Fighting Championship. This merger to form the “TKO Group” was completed in September. McMahon's role at TKO is executive chairman.
McMahon was also subject to a grand jury subpoena and search warrant in July 2023, the company announced last year, which it said was a continuation of the investigation into McMahon's conduct. McMahon told CNBC in August 2023: “I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so. “I am confident that the government's investigation will be completed without any findings of wrongdoing.”
Grant's lawsuit claims she was “further traumatized by having to relive these experiences while testifying to the government in connection with its investigation into WWE.”
On Tuesday, WWE announced a 10-year, $5 billion deal with Netflix to air “WWE Raw” along with its international media rights starting in 2025. The company also added Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to the TKO board. Johnson rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange that morning, surrounded by TKO executives, including McMahon, who stood next to him.
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