LionDen
01-27-2024, 04:22 AM
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Vince McMahon / WWE sued by former employee for sex trafiicking and abuse at the hands of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis
WARNING: Sexually explicit allegations included in this article.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that former WWE employee Janel Grant, the previously-unidentified woman at the center of the initial allegations against Vince McMahon, filed a lawsuit today before the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against McMahon and WWE, alleging sex trafficking on the behalf of McMahon.
Grant was the woman who’s allegations covered in a 2022 article about McMahon by the WSJ. That coverage led to McMahon’s retirement from the company, his eventual return and the forced sale, at his behest as primary stockholder, to Endeavor.
The lawsuit alleges, according to WSJ, “that McMahon lured her with promises of career advancement, and then he allegedly exploited her and trafficked her to other men inside the company.”
Grant signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 with McMahon, agreeing to a payment of $3 million to not publicly disparage him or to discuss their relationship. She is alleging that he stopped making payments after $1 million, one third of the agreement, was received. Her lawsuit is seeking to void the NDA and additional financial damages.
The WWE Board of Directors investigation into McMahon’s relationships with Grant and other women that were uncovered over the course of the third-party investigation resulted in the revelation that over $14.6 million of the $20 million made in payments should have been recorded as company business expenses. The company amended SEC filings to include those expenses and last year, announced the investigation had been completed with Vince McMahon reimbursing the company.
WWE later announced in a SEC filing, "On July 17, 2023, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena on Mr. McMahon. No charges have been brought in these investigations. WWE has received voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters."
Today’s WSJ article states that the grand jury investigation was in relation to the Janel Grant payout. To date, no criminal charges have been brought against Vince McMahon.
Post-sale to Endeavor, WWE also noted in a SEC filing:
Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.
Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could expose us to negative publicity and/or have other adverse financial and operational impacts on our business. His membership also may result in additional scrutiny or otherwise exacerbate the other risks described herein. Any of these outcomes could directly or indirectly have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.
“Throughout this experience, I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so,” McMahon said in 2023 about the federal government’s investigation. “I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing.”
Grant’s lawsuit levies allegations not just against McMahon, but an unidentified WWE star and former WWE exec John Laurinaitis, who was fired in the wake of the initial WSJ articles in 2002, as well.
The allegations in the lawsuit claim:
*After meeting Grant, McMahon hired her in June 2019 as an “administrator-coordinator,” a position McMahon created for her in WWE’s legal department. Grant was allegedly told not to tell anyone and that “it just has to look legit.”
*During meetings that were supposed to be about the job, according to WSJ, “he greeted her in his underwear and repeatedly asked for hugs. Then, the suit said, he pressured her into sexual activities in return for employment and warned her to stay quiet about their interactions.”
*In March 2020, the WSJ article alleges that, “McMahon began sharing sexually explicit photographs and videos of Grant with other men, including other WWE executives and a former UFC heavyweight champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract, according to the suit.”
*A May 2020 text message allegedly from McMahon to Grant read, “i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f— U.”
*McMahon used “forcefully used sex toys” on Grant, including “including dildos he named after WWE wrestlers, causing her bruising and bleeding.”
*”In a May 2020 encounter, McMahon defecated on her head during a threesome, the suit said.”
*Grant alleges that McMahon recruited John Laurinaitus (also a defendant in the lawsuit) and others to have sex with her and allegedly instructed Grant to visit Laurinaitis prior to her work day at hotel rooms.
*In May 2021, Grant was transferred to Talent Relations with the promise of being promoted to the role of Vice President. This allegedly happened because McMahon told Grant “her presence in the legal department was holding up the hiring of a new general counsel for the company.”
*Grant was locked in a WWE HQ office in June 2021 as McMahon and John Laurinaiitis allegedly took turns sexually assaulting Grant.
*On 6/23/21, McMahon allegedly locked Grant in his “private locker room at WWE’s offices” and “forced himself on her over a massage table.” That same day, his personal assistant delivered $15,000 in Bloomingdale’s gift cards to Grant.
*McMahon allegedly shared nude and explicit videos of Grant “without consent” to others in WWE, including talents and employees and “directed her to have sex with them.”
*Grant alleges that some in WWE knew about McMahon’s actions but “worked to conceal the wrongdoing” and that the company “diverted attention away from McMahon’s abuse by focusing on the accounting for the payouts.”
Grant stated in the lawsuit that her “mental and physical health deteriorated so badly that McMahon sent her in November to a celebrity doctor for sessions at an alternative clinic where she never received any receipts or bills. McMahon also paid $20,000 to a surgeon on her behalf.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported that a wrestler (who they surmised was allegedly Brock Lesnar due to his description as a former UFC Heavyweight Champion) had allegedly been sent explicit photos of Grant by McMahon during a contract negotiation. The lawsuit notes McMahon, “informed Grant that “he likes what he sees.” After the star agreed to a new WWE contract, McMahon texted Grant in August 2021 to say “that part of the deal was f—ing U.”
In December 2021, the wrestler attempted to set up a meeting with Grant that did not take place due to a snowstorm preventing him from traveling. The lawsuit states, “The wrestler asked her to send a video of herself urinating, the suit said, and after she did, he called her a “b—.”
The WSJ attempted to contact Lesnar but did not receive a response.
The lawsuit states that Linda McMahon discovered Vince McMahon’s relationship with Grant in January 2022 and that he “pressured” her to sign a NDA in exchange for the $3 million in payments. He paid her $1 million a month later and did not continue with the payments. That would be about several months before the initial WSJ article.
Grant alleged that the abuse from McMahon continued even after she signed the NDA, alleging he forced her to perform oral sex the last time they met and that he attempted to “traffic her” to the unidentified WWE star/UFC Heavyweight Champion in March 2022. Grant did not meet with the talent but did text with him.
The lawsuit, according to WSJ "seeks a judgment that the NDA is invalid under state and federal law and compensatory and punitive damages under other laws, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Vince McMahon / WWE sued by former employee for sex trafiicking and abuse at the hands of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis
WARNING: Sexually explicit allegations included in this article.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that former WWE employee Janel Grant, the previously-unidentified woman at the center of the initial allegations against Vince McMahon, filed a lawsuit today before the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against McMahon and WWE, alleging sex trafficking on the behalf of McMahon.
Grant was the woman who’s allegations covered in a 2022 article about McMahon by the WSJ. That coverage led to McMahon’s retirement from the company, his eventual return and the forced sale, at his behest as primary stockholder, to Endeavor.
The lawsuit alleges, according to WSJ, “that McMahon lured her with promises of career advancement, and then he allegedly exploited her and trafficked her to other men inside the company.”
Grant signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 with McMahon, agreeing to a payment of $3 million to not publicly disparage him or to discuss their relationship. She is alleging that he stopped making payments after $1 million, one third of the agreement, was received. Her lawsuit is seeking to void the NDA and additional financial damages.
The WWE Board of Directors investigation into McMahon’s relationships with Grant and other women that were uncovered over the course of the third-party investigation resulted in the revelation that over $14.6 million of the $20 million made in payments should have been recorded as company business expenses. The company amended SEC filings to include those expenses and last year, announced the investigation had been completed with Vince McMahon reimbursing the company.
WWE later announced in a SEC filing, "On July 17, 2023, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena on Mr. McMahon. No charges have been brought in these investigations. WWE has received voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters."
Today’s WSJ article states that the grand jury investigation was in relation to the Janel Grant payout. To date, no criminal charges have been brought against Vince McMahon.
Post-sale to Endeavor, WWE also noted in a SEC filing:
Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.
Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could expose us to negative publicity and/or have other adverse financial and operational impacts on our business. His membership also may result in additional scrutiny or otherwise exacerbate the other risks described herein. Any of these outcomes could directly or indirectly have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.
“Throughout this experience, I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so,” McMahon said in 2023 about the federal government’s investigation. “I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing.”
Grant’s lawsuit levies allegations not just against McMahon, but an unidentified WWE star and former WWE exec John Laurinaitis, who was fired in the wake of the initial WSJ articles in 2002, as well.
The allegations in the lawsuit claim:
*After meeting Grant, McMahon hired her in June 2019 as an “administrator-coordinator,” a position McMahon created for her in WWE’s legal department. Grant was allegedly told not to tell anyone and that “it just has to look legit.”
*During meetings that were supposed to be about the job, according to WSJ, “he greeted her in his underwear and repeatedly asked for hugs. Then, the suit said, he pressured her into sexual activities in return for employment and warned her to stay quiet about their interactions.”
*In March 2020, the WSJ article alleges that, “McMahon began sharing sexually explicit photographs and videos of Grant with other men, including other WWE executives and a former UFC heavyweight champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract, according to the suit.”
*A May 2020 text message allegedly from McMahon to Grant read, “i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f— U.”
*McMahon used “forcefully used sex toys” on Grant, including “including dildos he named after WWE wrestlers, causing her bruising and bleeding.”
*”In a May 2020 encounter, McMahon defecated on her head during a threesome, the suit said.”
*Grant alleges that McMahon recruited John Laurinaitus (also a defendant in the lawsuit) and others to have sex with her and allegedly instructed Grant to visit Laurinaitis prior to her work day at hotel rooms.
*In May 2021, Grant was transferred to Talent Relations with the promise of being promoted to the role of Vice President. This allegedly happened because McMahon told Grant “her presence in the legal department was holding up the hiring of a new general counsel for the company.”
*Grant was locked in a WWE HQ office in June 2021 as McMahon and John Laurinaiitis allegedly took turns sexually assaulting Grant.
*On 6/23/21, McMahon allegedly locked Grant in his “private locker room at WWE’s offices” and “forced himself on her over a massage table.” That same day, his personal assistant delivered $15,000 in Bloomingdale’s gift cards to Grant.
*McMahon allegedly shared nude and explicit videos of Grant “without consent” to others in WWE, including talents and employees and “directed her to have sex with them.”
*Grant alleges that some in WWE knew about McMahon’s actions but “worked to conceal the wrongdoing” and that the company “diverted attention away from McMahon’s abuse by focusing on the accounting for the payouts.”
Grant stated in the lawsuit that her “mental and physical health deteriorated so badly that McMahon sent her in November to a celebrity doctor for sessions at an alternative clinic where she never received any receipts or bills. McMahon also paid $20,000 to a surgeon on her behalf.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported that a wrestler (who they surmised was allegedly Brock Lesnar due to his description as a former UFC Heavyweight Champion) had allegedly been sent explicit photos of Grant by McMahon during a contract negotiation. The lawsuit notes McMahon, “informed Grant that “he likes what he sees.” After the star agreed to a new WWE contract, McMahon texted Grant in August 2021 to say “that part of the deal was f—ing U.”
In December 2021, the wrestler attempted to set up a meeting with Grant that did not take place due to a snowstorm preventing him from traveling. The lawsuit states, “The wrestler asked her to send a video of herself urinating, the suit said, and after she did, he called her a “b—.”
The WSJ attempted to contact Lesnar but did not receive a response.
The lawsuit states that Linda McMahon discovered Vince McMahon’s relationship with Grant in January 2022 and that he “pressured” her to sign a NDA in exchange for the $3 million in payments. He paid her $1 million a month later and did not continue with the payments. That would be about several months before the initial WSJ article.
Grant alleged that the abuse from McMahon continued even after she signed the NDA, alleging he forced her to perform oral sex the last time they met and that he attempted to “traffic her” to the unidentified WWE star/UFC Heavyweight Champion in March 2022. Grant did not meet with the talent but did text with him.
The lawsuit, according to WSJ "seeks a judgment that the NDA is invalid under state and federal law and compensatory and punitive damages under other laws, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.