Kemo
12-14-2022, 12:22 AM
Former WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon has faced fresh demands over accusations of sexual misconduct following his retirement from the promotion this year.
McMahon’s retirement came following accusations that the billionaire paid millions of dollars in NDAs to keep female employees quiet about extramarital affairs.
An investigation into the matter found that while McMahon paid out of his own pocket, these payments should have been listed with WWE as they benefitted the company.
In the 1980s, Rita Chatterton served as a referee in the then-World Wrestling Federation, making her the first female ref in company history.
Chatterton’s tenure with the promotion would end in 1986, and Chatterton has alleged for decades that she was raped by McMahon in a limousine.
She said in a series of 1992 interviews that Mr. McMahon told her she had to satisfy him if she wanted a $500,000 contract with WWF.
In correspondence to McMahon’s representative, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, a lawyer for Chatterton demanded $11.75 million in damages for the alleged assault.
McMahon has always denied the allegation and told people close to the situation that he will not pay the amount to Chatterton.
McMahon alleged in a 1993 lawsuit that Chatterton was induced to make a false rape charge against him by a former wrestler with an ax to grind.
That suit alleged that the promotion dismissed her in 1986 because she was a danger to wrestlers in the ring, but this suit against Chatterton was withdrawn by McMahon in 1994.
Chatterton’s lawyer John Clune writes in the recent letter that his client “has suffered years of ongoing depression, substance abuse, disordered eating, lost income, and overall a decreased quality of life.”
Clune adds that Chatterton had passed a polygraph and that multiple sources corroborated her account, two of which corroborated her claims to the Wall Street Journal.
WWE Hall of Famer Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine told the WSJ that he did not believe Chatterton’s claims, arguing that she was not attractive enough for McMahon.
Leonard Inzitari, who went to wrestling school with Ms. Chatterton, said earlier this year that the ex-referee was shaking and crying as she recounted the alleged rape before a WWF event in 1986.
When asked, Inzitari told the Journal that he believes Chatterton’s telling of events.
Chatterton isn’t the only person alleging assault from the former WWE CEO, as a former spa manager alleges she was assaulted by McMahon in 2011 in Southern California.
The Spa manager reported the alleged assault to the resort she was working at at the time, and also told her husband about what had happened.
The woman’s husband reportedly drove to the WWE event McMahon was in town for with a baseball bat and tried to confront the boss, but was turned away.
The spa manager’s lawyer, Michael Bressler, has been in touch with McMahon’s attorney since July.
California, like New York, has a recently-introduced law that allows alleged victims of sex abuse to file lawsuits that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.
Neither WWE, McMahon, nor his legal representatives responded when requested for comment.
McMahon’s retirement came following accusations that the billionaire paid millions of dollars in NDAs to keep female employees quiet about extramarital affairs.
An investigation into the matter found that while McMahon paid out of his own pocket, these payments should have been listed with WWE as they benefitted the company.
In the 1980s, Rita Chatterton served as a referee in the then-World Wrestling Federation, making her the first female ref in company history.
Chatterton’s tenure with the promotion would end in 1986, and Chatterton has alleged for decades that she was raped by McMahon in a limousine.
She said in a series of 1992 interviews that Mr. McMahon told her she had to satisfy him if she wanted a $500,000 contract with WWF.
In correspondence to McMahon’s representative, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, a lawyer for Chatterton demanded $11.75 million in damages for the alleged assault.
McMahon has always denied the allegation and told people close to the situation that he will not pay the amount to Chatterton.
McMahon alleged in a 1993 lawsuit that Chatterton was induced to make a false rape charge against him by a former wrestler with an ax to grind.
That suit alleged that the promotion dismissed her in 1986 because she was a danger to wrestlers in the ring, but this suit against Chatterton was withdrawn by McMahon in 1994.
Chatterton’s lawyer John Clune writes in the recent letter that his client “has suffered years of ongoing depression, substance abuse, disordered eating, lost income, and overall a decreased quality of life.”
Clune adds that Chatterton had passed a polygraph and that multiple sources corroborated her account, two of which corroborated her claims to the Wall Street Journal.
WWE Hall of Famer Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine told the WSJ that he did not believe Chatterton’s claims, arguing that she was not attractive enough for McMahon.
Leonard Inzitari, who went to wrestling school with Ms. Chatterton, said earlier this year that the ex-referee was shaking and crying as she recounted the alleged rape before a WWF event in 1986.
When asked, Inzitari told the Journal that he believes Chatterton’s telling of events.
Chatterton isn’t the only person alleging assault from the former WWE CEO, as a former spa manager alleges she was assaulted by McMahon in 2011 in Southern California.
The Spa manager reported the alleged assault to the resort she was working at at the time, and also told her husband about what had happened.
The woman’s husband reportedly drove to the WWE event McMahon was in town for with a baseball bat and tried to confront the boss, but was turned away.
The spa manager’s lawyer, Michael Bressler, has been in touch with McMahon’s attorney since July.
California, like New York, has a recently-introduced law that allows alleged victims of sex abuse to file lawsuits that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.
Neither WWE, McMahon, nor his legal representatives responded when requested for comment.