WWE Founder Vince McMahon Accused of Sexual Assault, Trafficking in New Lawsuit
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Vince McMahon is accused of sexual assault and trafficking in a new lawsuit filed by a former employee against the WWE founder and his wrestling company.
In 2022, McMahon announced he was stepping down from the WWE amid an internal investigation that found allegations of a hush-money payment to a former employee, with McMahon allegedly paying a secret $3 million to the then-unnamed female, a WWE paralegal, to keep their “consensual” affair private.
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However, on Thursday, the woman — Janel Grant, who was hired in the specially made role of “administrator-coordinator” in WWE’s legal department — filed a lawsuit against McMahon, WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, and the wrestling company outlining years of alleged sexual assaults.
Among the more startling allegations in the lawsuit, obtained by Rolling Stone, is McMahon’s demands that Grant make herself sexually available to both himself and Laurinaitis, as well as an unnamed “WWE Corporate Officers” and a “WWE Superstar.”
“Given McMahon’s omnipotent position at WWE, coercion was inherent in his increasingly depraved sexual demands,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, while McMahon was CEO of WWE and Ms. Grant was employed as an entry level coordinator in the legal department, McMahon recruited individuals to have sexual relations with Ms. Grant and/or with the two of them, directed Ms. Grant to visit Defendant Laurinaitis prior to the start of workdays for sexual encounters, and expected and directed Ms. Grant to engage in sexual activity at the WWE headquarters, even during working hours.”
McMahon also, per the suit, “subjected Ms. Grant to acts of extreme cruelty and degradation that caused Ms. Grant to disassociate and/or become numb to reality in order to survive the horrific encounters.”
In perhaps the most shocking claim, Grant alleges that on May 9, 2020, McMahon “defecated on Ms. Grant during a threesome, and then commanded her to continue pleasuring his ‘friend’— with feces in her hair and running down her back—while McMahon went to the bathroom to shower off. 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. When McMahon’s ‘friend’ left, McMahon ordered her to stay and to continue to sexually gratify him.”
The lawsuit also cites a June 2021 incident where McMahon and Laurinaitis “cornered her and pulled her in between them, forcibly touched her, before ultimately putting her on top of a table in between them. She begged them to stop, but they forced themselves on her, each taking turns restraining her for the other, while saying ‘No means yes’ and ‘Take it, bitch.'”
A spokesperson for McMahon said in a statement to Rolling Stone, “This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself.”
Grant first met McMahon in March 2019, a time when, according to the suit, she “was dealing with profound grief and struggling financially – after devoting years to around-the-clock caregiving, her parents passed away. On top of that, she was unemployed and her family home was lost in her parents’ bankruptcy.” She and McMahon lived in the same apartment building, the lawsuit says, and the building’s resident manager offered to connect Grant with McMahon with the hope of finding employment within WWE.
“McMahon befriended Ms. Grant, giving her hopes of a new life with promises of a yet-to-be-determined role at WWE, and showering her with attention and assurances, along with gifts like a VIP experience at WrestleMania,” the lawsuit states. “But what seemed like a dream in the Spring of 2019 quickly became a nightmare. As McMahon dangled career-making and life-changing promises in front of Ms. Grant, he demonstrated an increasing lack of boundaries. During several meetings that were ostensibly about a potential job at WWE, he greeted her in his underwear, touched her, repeatedly asked for hugs, and spent hours sharing intimate details about his personal life.”
McMahon is also accused of showing sexually explicit photos and video of Grant to fellow WWE employees, including “a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract (and ultimately did sign that contract).” “Unsurprisingly, others at WWE knew what was going on. But instead of intervening to protect Ms. Grant, WWE actively sought to conceal the wrongdoing,” the lawsuit states.
By 2022, McMahon’s wife Linda, a member of the Trump administration’s cabinet, found out about Vince and Grant’s sexual relationship and, as he told Grant, threatened to divorce him. As a result, McMahon lobbied Grant to sign the NDA that ultimately led to his (temporary) departure from the WWE; he returned to the company’s board of directors in January 2023, less than six months after he “retired.”
After Grant’s $3 million NDA was finally signed after weeks of legal “wordsmithing,” Grant went to McMahon’s condo to “review outstanding business items.” Once there, however, McMahon allegedly “commanded” Grant “to do ‘one last thing’ and get ‘on your knees.'”
“As Ms. Grant knelt on the hard floor, barely a few feet away from the front door, McMahon opened his robe and ordered her to ‘Eat him!’ McMahon grabbed the back of Ms. Grant’s head and slammed her face into his crotch a couple times until she gagged and pushed him away, telling him to stop and that she couldn’t breathe,” the lawsuit alleges.
“McMahon responded that she wouldn’t get away that easily and held her head as he forced himself back in her mouth until she had no air. Ms. Grant tried to push him away but he held her head firmly in place and loudly commanded her to ‘Look up!’ followed by ‘Take it, bitch.’ They momentarily made eye contact before McMahon’s force caused Ms. Grant’s body to convulse and retch with tears streaming down her face. McMahon then released his hold and closed his robe as she stood up. After leaving, Ms. Grant never saw McMahon again.”
Grant’s lawsuit states that McMahon later failed to live up to the terms of the NDA, including making the negotiated payments. That, as well as the Speaks Out Act that makes the nondisclosure act unenforceable, caused Grant to file the lawsuit.
“The severe restrictions of the NDA have created a wedge in all of Ms. Grant’s relationships and left her in a perpetual state of isolation, as her family has passed away and she cannot (and does not) lean on the support of the community due to the NDA’s restrictions,” the lawsuit added.
“Further, Ms. Grant has experienced weight loss, insomnia, rashes, flashbacks to her exploitation, nightmares, panic attacks, and depression. Ms. Grant will go days without brushing her teeth, taking a shower, or washing her clothes. On many days, she doesn’t leave her bed.”
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