SEX TRAFFICKING – Vince McMahon has resigned from his position as Executive Chairman of TKO – the company formed by Endeavor after the $21billion WWE and UFC merger in September.
It comes after former WWE employee Janel Grant accused the 78-year-old billionaire of sex trafficking this week and claimed he defecated on her head during a threesome, among other things.
The Full Statement
A statement obtained from McMahon read: ‘I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth.
‘I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.
‘However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately.’
Earlier, he Agreed to a Settlement
Grant, who previously agreed to a $3million settlement in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement in 2022, filed a new lawsuit against McMahon, the WWE and a former executive this week.
In that filing, Grant claims McMahon stopped making payments after the initial $1m installment, and she now seeks to void that agreement.
Furthermore, Grant claims she suffered bruising and bleeding after McMahon forcefully penetrated her with sex toys, which he named after his wrestlers.
More Allegations Against Him
She also alleges that McMahon and another WWE executive locked her in a room at the WWE’s Stamford, in Connecticut June of 2021 and took turns sexually assaulting her during the work day.
The married McMahon is additionally accused of trafficking Grant to other men and sharing nude photographs of the plaintiff. Grant is seeking unspecified damages.
The WWE previously described McMahon’s sexual relationship with Grant as ‘consensual’ in a 2022 statement.
Now McMahon Resigns
‘I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors,’ WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan said in an email to staff on Friday night.
‘He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.’
His resignation comes at the same time McMahon was reducing his role within the company. In fact, he briefly left the WWE in 2022, when the initial allegations of his infidelities first surfaced in a Wall Street Journal report.
New Appointment Made
And this week, former wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was appointed to the board of directors at TKO. Meanwhile another former wrestler, Triple H (AKA Paul Levesque and McMahon’s son-in-law) replaced McMahon as chief content officer.
The WWE board learned of McMahon’s relationship with Grant from an anonymous tip in 2022 and launched an internal investigation, which subsequently uncovered $14.6m in other alleged payments by the executive to various women.
Grant’s filing alleges that McMahon ensnared her in a sexual relationship by promising to help advance her career before ultimately exploiting her and trafficking her to other executives within the company.
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Some Appearing-Evidences Against McMahon
In one alleged text message from 2020, McMahon is accused of sharing a photo of Grant with others and writing: ‘She may scream and try to say NO!!although it would B difficult to say anything with a c*** down her throat.’
Another message allegedly sent by McMahon to Grant a month earlier read: ‘i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f*** U.’
WWE executive and retired wrestler John Laurinaitis is also named as a defendant in the suit. Laurinaitis was fired from the WWE in 2022.
Grant claims that McMahon directed her to regularly visit Laurinaitis at a hotel, where the two had daily sexual encounters prior to reporting to the office.
‘I’ve left that hotel feeling bad about myself every time,’ Grant claims she told McMahon.
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About John Laurinaitis?
John is the uncle of former NFL linebacker James Laurinaitis. His brothers Joe and Marcus also wrestled in the WWE.
In one alleged sexual encounter in May of 2020, Grant claims McMahon defecated on her head during a threesome before commanding her to continue pleasuring his ”friend.”
‘Upon his return from the bathroom, McMahon and his ”friend” actively resumed the threesome, which lasted over an hour and a half, while Ms. Grant remained covered in McMahon’s filth,’ the filing continued. ‘When McMahon’s ”friend” left, McMahon ordered her to stay and to continue to sexually gratify him.’
Investigation is Ongoing
McMahon is already being investigated by federal prosecutors over the alleged payments, and according to The Wall Street Journal, agents executed a search warrant for his phone and served him a grand-jury subpoena in July of 2023.
He has not been charged with any crime in the case.
‘Throughout this experience, I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so,’ McMahon said in 2023 about the federal probe.
‘I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing.’
As Things Happened To Grant in 2019
Grant began working with the WWE in 2019, joining the company at a difficult time in her life, according to the filing.
‘The two met in March 2019, when Ms. Grant was dealing with profound grief and struggling financially – after devoting years to around-the-clock caregiving, her parents passed away,’ read the filing. ‘On top of that, she was unemployed and her family home was lost in her parents’ bankruptcy.’
Initially, McMahon seemed like a savior for Grant, but she soon began to feel otherwise.
