Editor’s note: This story contains disturbing material.
A former WWE staffer has accused the company’s founder, Vince McMahon, of sexual assault, trafficking and physical abuse in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The new, disturbing allegations from Janel Grant, who worked at WWE’s headquarters, come more than a year after the conclusion of a WWE-appointed special committee investigation into McMahon’s alleged misconduct while serving as chairman and CEO of the company. McMahon retired from his role amid the investigation in July 2022 but has since returned as chair of WWE’s parent company.
In the lawsuit filed in Connecticut district court, Grant alleged that McMahon promised a job – and later promotions – at WWE in exchange for sex. Grant’s lawsuit also includes allegations that McMahon trafficked her to other men inside and outside of the company, including John Laurinaitis, a former wrestler who worked in the company’s talent relations department who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the lawsuit.
At the end of her employment and their sexual relationship, McMahon allegedly pressured Grant into signing a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for payments over several years totaling $3 million, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement, WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, said McMahon does not control TKO or oversee day-to-day operations at WWE. Led by McMahon, WWE and UFC, a mixed-martial arts entertainment competitor, announced in April 2023 that they would combine to form TKO.
“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,” a TKO spokesperson said.
In a statement to Deadline, a spokesperson for McMahon said the lawsuit was “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.”
“He will vigorously defend himself,” the spokesperson said.
Attempts by CNN to reach John Laurinaitis did not yield a response.
In a statement to CNN, Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, said Thursday’s lawsuit sought to “hold accountable two WWE executives who sexually assaulted and trafficked Plaintiff Janel Grant, as well as the organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug.”
“Ms. Grant hopes that her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized. The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership,” Callis added.
Lawsuit details disturbing allegations
According to the lawsuit, Grant was introduced to McMahon in 2019 when she was looking for work.
Grant initially believed she was building a professional relationship with McMahon, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that McMahon eventually pressured Grant into a physical relationship as he dangled “career-making and life-changing” promises in front of her. After receiving a job at WWE, McMahon allegedly subjected Grant to acts of “extreme cruelty and degradation” that caused Grant to “disassociate and/or become numb to reality in order to survive,” according to the lawsuit.
One disturbing incident described in the lawsuit details an alleged sexual encounter between Grant, McMahon and a “friend” of McMahon’s in May 2020. During the encounter, McMahon allegedly defecated on Grant, commanding “her to continue pleasuring his ‘friend’ with feces in her hair,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also detailed an alleged sexual assault among Grant, McMahon and Laurinaitis that occurred at WWE’s headquarters in 2021. The two men allegedly pulled Grant behind a locked door, forcibly restraining her. As she begged them to stop, one of the men allegedly said to her, “No means yes.”
“Ms. Grant was exploited during her time of employment with WWE and was subjected to countless depraved and humiliating acts, which has led to severe and permanent trauma,” the lawsuit alleges.
McMahon was rehired after WWE’s investigation
The allegations detailed in Grant’s lawsuit prompt questions about a 2022 investigation by a special committee into alleged misconduct by McMahon.
The investigation, which reportedly began in April 2022, revolved around allegations that McMahon paid a secret $3 million settlement to a former employee with whom he had an affair, according to a previous Wall Street Journal report. The separation agreement, which was made in January 2022, prevented the former, then-unnamed employee “from discussing her relationship with Mr. McMahon or disparaging him,” according to the Journal.
The investigation reportedly “unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr. McMahon,” the Journal previously reported. Other misconduct claims were reportedly found against Laurinaitis.
The Journal reported in July 2022 that Vince McMahon paid more than $12 million to four women to cover up “allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”
WWE commented in June 2022 that it takes “all allegations of misconduct very seriously” and said it had engaged independent legal services to assist with the review.
While Grant’s lawsuit did not explicitly say she was the former employee at the center of that investigation, it nonetheless implicates not only McMahon but also the WWE organization as a whole.
Her lawsuit alleges that WWE knew about Grant’s relationship with McMahon but that the company actively sought to conceal any wrongdoing.
Grant also alleges that the special committee assigned to investigate McMahon never interviewed her or requested any documents, despite Grant allegedly stating that she would be willing to cooperate.
In March 2023, after the close of WWE’s special committee investigation, WWE said McMahon would reimburse the company $17.4 million “for costs that have been incurred and paid by the company and/or subsidiaries… in connection with and/or arising from the investigation conducted by a special committee.”
McMahon stepped down from his role as WWE’s chairman and CEO at the start of that investigation but has since returned as executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, WWE’s parent company in January 2023.
Profitable deals, despite allegations
WWE has inked lucrative business partnerships recently.
In September, WWE officially merged with a portion of Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor group, the parent company of UFC, to form TKO. The deal valued the newly combined company at over $21 billion, with WWE shareholders owning 49% of the combined company. McMahon was WWE’s largest shareholder.
Earlier this week, TKO made two major announcements.
The first was that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a former WWE wrestler himself, would join TKO’s board of directors.
McMahon touted the partnership in a statement Tuesday. “Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock,” he said.
The company will pay Johnson $30 million in stock awards to promote the brand as part of the deal.
This week Netflix also announced that it would become the exclusive home of “WWE Raw” starting in January 2025. According to a filing from TKO, the 10-year deal is valued at more than $5 billion.
Neither Netflix nor representatives for Johnson immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment.
- CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to reporting.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the agency that represents McMahon.
