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Fresh off an appearance this week at the New York Stock Exchange, Vince McMahon now finds himself the subject of a series of very alarming accusations.
McMahon, who appeared at the NYSE with new TKO Group Board Member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and President of Endeavor Mark Shapiro, is being sued by a woman named Janel Grant.
Janel Grant filed the complaint against McMahon, former WWE Head of Talent Relations (and stepfather to the Bella Twins) John Laurinaitis, and WWE in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on Thursday.
She accuses the defendants of violation of the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA), participating in venture in violation of the TVPA, negligence, civil battery, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, and declaratory relief.
“Today’s complaint seeks to hold accountable two WWE executives who sexually 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,” said Grant’s attorney Ann Callis in a statement.
“She is an incredibly private and courageous person who has suffered deeply at the hands of Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis. Ms. Grant hopes that her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized. The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership.”
An email we received from Janel Grant’s representatives, which contains the 67-page complaint plus seven pages of exhibits, lays out the reasons for all of the accusations…
“Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis, on WWE property and using WWE funding, both engaged in sexual assault and trafficking of Ms. Grant both for their own pleasure and as a pawn to secure talent deals with prospective wrestlers they were recruiting,” it reads.
“Mr. McMahon repeatedly used sex toys named after other WWE employees, wrestlers, and performers to sexually groom Ms. Grant for trafficking to those same people.
“During this ‘relationship’ Mr. McMahon would shower Ms. Grant with gifts and empty work promotions, while at the same time threatening her livelihood and her reputation if she wouldn’t succumb to his increasingly depraved sexual demands, including disseminating [explicit images] of Ms. Grant to ‘thousands’ of individuals and engaging in sex acts with other WWE employees—some of whom were complete strangers.
“On one such occasion, Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis are alleged to have raped Ms. Grant in a WWE conference room, ignoring her protests and saying ‘No means yes’ and ‘take it, b—-.
“After years of emotional and sexual abuse/manipulation by Mr. McMahon, and after Mr. McMahon’s wife had learned of the relationship, Ms. Grant was abruptly pressured to resign from the WWE and forced to sign an NDA days before a major financial deadline for the organization under the guise that Mr. McMahon would ‘protect her’ financially and reputationally, and pay her $3 million. However, Mr. McMahon later refused to make payments to Ms. Grant, falsely claiming that she had leaked information to the press.
“Ms. Grant is coming forward to tell her own story, pave the way for other victims to seek justice, and bring accountability to the organization that allowed this misconduct to take place under its watch.”
The Wall Street Journal goes even more in-depth on the story and the accusations made against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE with a feature that was published Thursday morning.