By Imtiaz Hussain Abro.
A lawsuit has been filed by a former employee, Janel Grant, accusing Vince McMahon and another executive of sexual assault, trafficking, and emotional abuse. Vince McMahon has resigned from his position as executive chairman of the board of directors at TKO Group Holdings and its subsidiary, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which he founded.
Grant filed the complaint in a Connecticut court, where WWE is headquartered, alleging that McMahon coerced her into a “sexual relationship,” shared explicit photos and videos of her with colleagues, and subjected her to “increasingly depraved sexual demands,” including encounters with the other executive, John Laurinaitis.
McMahon released a statement saying he is leaving the board “out of respect” for WWE and TKO Group and vehemently denies the allegations, calling them lies and a vindictive distortion of the truth. Grant’s lawyer, Ann Callis, stated that Grant hopes her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized, highlighting the organization’s awareness of McMahon’s alleged history of misconduct.
Grant seeks unspecified monetary damages and aims to void a $3 million nondisclosure agreement, claiming she received only $1 million. McMahon previously stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid similar allegations, and his daughter Stephanie McMahon took over as interim CEO during an investigation into widespread misconduct and payments to silence women associated with WWE.
McMahon, who transformed WWE into an entertainment giant since acquiring it in 1982, has faced ongoing accusations. The organization achieved over a billion dollars in annual sales last year, and a recent 10-year, $5 billion broadcast deal with Netflix was finalized on Tuesday after WWE merged with the company behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment entity known as TKO.
