Vince McMahon Quits WWE and TKO Holdings After Janel Grant Exposed His True Face in Heartbreaking Lawsuit
Vince McMahon, popularly known as the sports executive and professional wrestling promoter, is also the co-founder of the modern WWE. After starting his professional career as the commentator for WWE (then called WWF) in the 1970s, McMahon not only bought the company from his father but also monopolized the industry.
With his efforts, WrestleMania was developed as an annual event and became one of the most successful professional wrestling events across the world. The businessman served as the executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings after a merger between WWE and Endeavor Group Holdings was announced. Vince McMahon has reportedly resigned from his position at TKO and WWE.
Vince McMahon accused by a former WWE employee of s*x trafficking
According to reports by CBS News, Vince McMahon, co-founder of WWE, has been accused by former WWE employee Janel Grant of s*x trafficking. In her lawsuit filed on Thursday, Grant alleges that McMahon had offered her a job in 2019 after her parents passed away and had made it clear that one of the requirements of the job would be having a physical relationship with him.
The lawsuit filed in Connecticut federal court alleges that McMahon started to
“Greet her in his underwear, touched her, repeatedly asked her hugs and spent hours sharing intimate details about his personal life.”
Janel Grant alleges that her former boss had started to share explicit pictures of her with other WWE employees and wrestlers, adding that he recruited individuals, including WWE employees, to have a physical relationship with her. According to Deadline, Grant had previously agreed to a $ 3 million settlement in 2022 in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement but has now filed a new lawsuit against McMahon.
In her new lawsuit, Grant claims that McMahon stopped making payments after the initial $ 1 million installment. She alleges in her lawsuit that McMahon, along with another WWE executive, locked her in a room at WWE’s Connecticut headquarters and took turns in s*xually assaulting her in 2021.
In 2022, Vince McMahon stepped down from the position of CEO of WWE while the company investigated him for the alleged misconduct. It was, however, reported at the time that the relationship between the two of them was consensual. Anna Callis, attorney for Janel Grant shared with CBS News,
“Today’s complaint seeks to hold accountable to WWE executives who s*xually assaulted and trafficked Plaintiff Janel Grant as well as the organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug.”
Callis claims that the alleged investigation against McMahon was a sham and the committee never bothered to interview Grant or even request any documents despite her stating that she would cooperate.
Also read: Vince McMahon and Other WWE Stars Who Are Named in Janel Grant’s S*x Trafficking Allegations
Vince McMahon resigns from TKO Group Holdings and WWE
President of WWE, Nick Khan shared in a WWE memo via CNBC,
“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.”
The co-founder of WWE also shared a statement on Friday via Deadline stating that he has decided to resign from his executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors’s position out of respect for the WWE Universe. He added,
“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.”
McMahon who stepped down from the WWE leadership in mod-2022 returned as the leader in early 2023 and had reportedly paid WWE $17.4 million to cover the costs of the probe. McMahon’s resignation came after a long discussion and deliberations among the authorities at TKO and WWE as the alleged lawsuit by Grant had drawn a lot of attention. A spokesperson at TKO noted that McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations at WWE.
The new lawsuit from Janel Grant against Vince McMahon was filed 48 hours after TKO had made a 10-year deal with Netflix for $5 billion. The deal was made so that the streaming platform could get in the ring next year with WWE’s Monday Night Raw.
