Vince McMahon resigns from TKO after sexual misconduct allegations

Vince McMahon, who co-founded the modern WWE in 1982, has resigned from his duties as CEO of TKO and from his position on TKO’s board of directors, he said in a statement provided to ESPN on Friday night.

McMahon, 78, is leaving the publicly traded company, which was formed when the UFC merged with WWE last year, following a lawsuit filed Thursday accusing him of sexual misconduct.

In the lawsuit, Janel Grant, who worked in WWE’s legal and talent departments, alleges that McMahon forced her into a sexual relationship in order for her to get and keep her job and passed pornographic photographs and videos of her to other men. including others. employees. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, where WWE is headquartered, also names WWE and John Laurinaitis, the company’s former head of talent relations and general manager, as defendants.

Grant alleges sexual abuse and exploitation beginning in March 2020, and the lawsuit included several screenshots of text messages purporting to be from McMahon asking for depraved sexual acts.

“I stand by my previous statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is filled with lies, made-up obscene cases that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said in the statement. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations and look forward to clearing my name.

“However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary business of TKO and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all the employees and superstars who helped make WWE the global leader it is today, I have decided resign from my executive chairmanship and from the board of directors of TKO, effective immediately.”

McMahon, a billionaire, resigned as WWE CEO in 2022 amid an investigation into allegations matching those in the lawsuit.

“I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has resigned from his positions as Executive Chairman of TKO and on the TKO Board of Directors,” WWE Chairman Nick Khan told the entire staff in a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday. the night. “He will no longer have any role in TKO Group or WWE.”

Grant signed a confidentiality agreement in 2022 in connection with an agreement by McMahon to pay him $3 million. WWE launched a board investigation that same year after receiving an anonymous tip about the inappropriate relationship.

In the lawsuit, Grant said McMahon paid $1 million but subsequently stopped making payments. She seeks to vacate the NDA along with unspecified financial damages.

The 67-page lawsuit also implicated a “former UFC heavyweight champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign a new contract.”

Grant’s representatives said she wanted to make her allegations public.

“Ms. Grant hopes her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized,” her attorney, Ann Callis, said in a statement Thursday. “The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it is time for them to take responsibility for his leadership’s misconduct.”

McMahon briefly retired from WWE in July 2022 following revelations of multiple payments to several women related to sexual misconduct allegations. The internal investigation by an outside law firm found $14.6 million in payments by McMahon.

WWE said in November that McMahon paid the company and soon returned to the organization.

McMahon is credited with revolutionizing the professional wrestling industry and bringing it to the mainstream. The third-generation promoter bought the then WWF in 1982 from his father and, two years later, bet heavily on his idea with the debut of WrestleMania. The annual spectacle, the Super Bowl of wrestling, will celebrate its 40th edition in April in Philadelphia.

Earlier this week, Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was named to the TKO Board of Directors and also received the trademark of his famous nickname, owned by WWE.

Also this week, WWE completed a more than $5 billion, 10-year deal with Netflix to air “Raw,” the promotion’s flagship weekly show, beginning next January.

WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” will move from Fox to the US in the fall, while its live monthly premium events will air on Peacock. One of WWE’s four biggest annual events, the Royal Rumble takes place Saturday in St. Petersburg, Florida, kicking off the road to WrestleMania.

McMahon’s son-in-law, WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque, oversees the creative direction of the organization. McMahon previously held that position from the WWF’s inception in 1982 until his previous resignation in July 2022.

WWE merged with the company that runs the UFC in April to create the sports entertainment company TKO Group Holdings, valued at $21.4 billion.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.