A former WWE employee has alleged that Vince McMahon abused and sexually assaulted her when he was CEO of the wrestling entertainment company.
The former employee, Janel Grant, also claimed in a lawsuit filed on Thursday, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, that McMahon had trafficked her to other men as “a pawn to secure talent deals” with prospective wrestlers the company was recruiting.
The claims, as part of a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, named WWE founder McMahon as well as the company’s former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis as defendants.
The lawsuit alleged McMahon, Laurinaitis and WWE violated the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act while it includes claims of civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which Grant alleges she endured as an employee of WWE.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages alongside a declaratory judgement that a nondisclosure agreement Grant signed while a WWE employee is void and unenforceable, and does not bar any of Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants McMahon and WWE.”
Grant was set to receive $3million (£2.4million) after signing a nondisclosure agreement in 2022, which instructed her not to discuss her relationship with McMahon.
She claims in court documents that on May 9, 2020, McMahon defecated on her and "commanded her to continue pleasuring" another man with his faeces still on her body.
Grant has also alleged that McMahon made promises of career advancement and exploited Grant before "trafficking her to men inside the company". A further allegation accuses McMahon and an unnamed executive of "lock[ing] Grant in an office" in 2021 and "t[aking] turns sexually assaulting her".
Grant has also alleged that McMahon locked her in his private dressing room at WWE HQ and forced himself on her over a massage table before being given a $15,000 gift card for Bloomingdale's by an assistant.
The plaintiff alleges that the WWE founder "dangled" life-changing job opportunities in front of her while "demonstrating an increasing lack of boundaries" which included greeting her for meetings wearing only his underwear and touching her.
As per The Wall Street Journal, McMahon and his attorney, Jerry McDevitt, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Representatives for the WWE also did not immediately respond.
McDevitt said in 2022 that the woman, whose name wasn’t yet public, hadn’t made any allegations of harassment. In response to the allegations and media reporting about the settlement at the time, the WWE stressed the relationship between McMahon and Grant was consensual, although it was taking allegations of misconduct "seriously".
No criminal charges have been brought against McMahon, and he said last year amid a federal probe into his conduct: "Throughout this experience, I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so. I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing.”
Laurinaitis also didn’t immediately respond to the Wall Street Journal's requests for comment.
In response to the allegations, the WWE told SPORTbible: “Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Vince McMahon, WWE
Chris Byfield