WARNING: Contents of this article contain descriptions of alleged sexual assault(s).
The WWE executive has been accused of sex trafficking.
The Wall Street Journal published a story about WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon being accused of sexual trafficking, per a lawsuit filing from former WWE employee Janel Grant. Grant received a payout from McMahon to stay quiet about their interactions.
She noted in the suit that she was abused and sexually exploited by McMahon while he was heading up the company. McMahon promised her career advancements and allegedly exploited and trafficked her to other men in WWE.
In 2022, Grant signed an NDA. McMahon agreed to pay her $3 million to not discuss the nature of their relationship or disparage him. WWE received an anonymous tip about it and began a Board investigation. McMahon stopped making the payments under the 2022 deal following an initial $1 million being sent.
McMahon, his attorney Jerry McDevitt and WWE representatives did not respond to Wall Street Journal for a comment.
It is documented that there were millions of dollars in payments from the then-WWE CEO to women who accused him of sexual misconduct. In November 2022, WWE’s Board stated that the investigation was complete and McMahon reimbursed the company for the cost of the investigation. Come July 2023, McMahon was served with a search warrant for his phone and was hit with a grand-jury subpoena. No charges were brought from that.
Janel Grant alleges that on June 15th, 2021, McMahon and another exec locked her in an office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut and took turns sexually assaulting her while other staff members were working. That same month, McMahon locked Grant inside his private locker room and forced himself onto her. The suit notes that on the same day, McMahon’s personal assistant delivered $15,000 worth of Bloomingdale’s gift cards to Grant’s office.
He sent explicit messages to Janel, one of which from May 2020 reads:
“i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f— U.”
Grant alleges that Vince shared explicit photos and videos to fellow employees, executives and stars. He directed her to have sex with those individuals. There was another text message unveiling where a group of individuals laughed when McMahon wrote the following about Janel:
She may scream and try to say NO!!although it would B difficult to say anything with a c— down her throat.
Per the suit, others at WWE knew about McMahon’s misconduct but worked to hide what he had been doing. Janel Grant first met McMahon when they lived in the same building. She was looking for a job following the passing of both of her parents. McMahon made promises about giving her a job at WWE and gave her gifts. When they would have meetings about a potential job offer, he would greet her in his underwear and repeatedly asked for hugs.
McMahon created a position for her in the summer of 2019 within WWE’s legal department. Grant felt the spot was unearned, but she was told by McMahon that all she had to do was just not speak of their personal interactions. Vince forcefully used sex toys on her and the suit notes that he named dildos after WWE wrestlers. The use of said toys caused bruising and bleeding. She did attempt to end the relationship multiple times.
Elsewhere in the suit, it is noted that during a threesome, McMahon defecated on Grant’s head.
Janel’s mental health reached a point where McMahon sent her to a celebrity doctor for sessions. He also paid $20,000 to a surgeon on her behalf. There was a point when he directed Grant to begin having sexual relations with former WWE executive John Laurinaitis.
She would meet Laurinatis at hotel rooms and she relayed to McMahon that she’d leave those rooms feeling very bad about herself. Janel was transferred from WWE legal to Talent Relations because McMahon felt her presence was getting in the way of the company’s hiring of a legal counsel. She reported directly to Laurinaitis and was promised she’d be promoted to Vice President. In June 2021, both Laurinaitis and McMahon forced themselves onto her.
In July 2021, McMahon instructed Janel to create sexual content for a talent he was trying to re-sign and those familiar with the matter identified the individual as Brock Lesnar. McMahon told Grant that Lesnar liked what he saw and after Lesnar agreed to a new contract in August 2021, McMahon texted her to say that part of the deal was he got to have sex with her.
That December, Grant’s personal number was given to Lesnar. He asked her to send a video of herself urinating and after she did it, he called her a ‘b*tch’. Lesnar attempted to set up a meeting between them but there was a snowstorm.
Linda McMahon discovered the relationship between Vince and Janel in January 2022 and Grant was then ordered to sign an NDA in exchange for payments. After signing the NDA, the abuse continued. Vince attempted to traffic her onto Lesnar in March 2022, but they never met, although she sent explicit photos per McMahon’s request.
The lawsuit seeks a judgment that the N.D.A. is invalid under state and federal law and compensatory and punitive damages under other laws, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
