On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed by a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee, alleging that Vince McMahon, the co-founder and former longtime chairman of the company, engaged in sex trafficking, sexual assault, and attempted to silence her through payments. The lawsuit was filed by Janel Grant in Connecticut, US. It names Mr. McMahon, the wrestling-entertainment firm, and its former head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis, as defendants. The lawsuit claims that Mr McMahon trafficked Grant to other men and used her as a pawn to secure talent deals with prospective wrestlers the WWE was recruiting.
The suit accuses Mr McMahon of committing acts of rape and sexual assault, as well as of violating the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. It also alleges that he and his former head of talent relations harassed Grant, threatened her, and manipulated her into engaging in a physical relationship that she did not want to be part of. The lawsuit states that the alleged abuse and predatory behavior has left her physically and psychologically crippled. It seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order declaring that a nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2022 is void.
According to the lawsuit, when Grant first joined the company in 2019, Mr McMahon told her that she was to be his “personal slave.” The lawsuit alleges that he and Laurinaitis used her as a sexual commodity for the benefit of WWE, which profited from its commercial sex acts. It also says that the two engaged in repeated sexual exploitation of Grant, including sex orgies on the WWE’s property and at its headquarters. It further claims that despite her objections, she was forced to engage in sexual contact with other WWE employees and performers.
The lawsuit also claims that, despite her attempts to end the physical relationship with Mr McMahon, she was pushed into it by the promise of employment. The lawsuit also claims that Mr. McMahon used his wealth and power to persuade her into an exclusive relationship with a well-known wrestler in exchange for a new contract. It says that he shared explicit photos and videos with the wrestler and offered her sex as a reward for signing her new contract.
The lawsuit says that the abuse and coercion continued until March 2022, when the WWE received an anonymous tip that led to an investigation by a special committee of the WWE board. The investigation discovered hush money payments made to women who had complained about Mr McMahon’s behavior. Afterward, he stepped down as CEO and resigned from the board. He then sold the company to Endeavor Group, which owns UFC and other mixed martial arts brands. He retained 28 million shares in the combined company, now called TKO Group and remains the company’s executive chairman. TKO Group did not comment on the lawsuit. Its parent company, the Endeavor Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No criminal charges have been brought against Mr McMahon.
