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WWE founder Vince McMahon is accused by a former employee of sex trafficking. The former employee, Janel Grant, alleges that McMahon pressured her into having sexual relations with him and another WWE employee in exchange for her job. In addition to her own assault, Grant accuses McMahon of sex trafficking in WWE.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Connecticut, alleges that Grant was hired by McMahon in 2019, after her parents died and she was unemployed. “But what seemed like a dream in the spring of 2019 quickly turned into a nightmare,” the lawsuit states.
Grant alleges that McMahon pressured her into a sexual relationship in exchange for work, and soon “greeted her in his underwear, touched her, repeatedly asked for hugs, and spent hours sharing intimate details about his personal life.” Once employed, McMahon allegedly shared explicit photos of Grant with other WWE employees and wrestlers, and “recruited people to have sexual relations with Ms. Grant,” including WWE employees.
She also alleges that McMahon and another WWE executive sexually assaulted her “while her colleagues were busy at their desks.”
The lawsuit raises questions about McMahon’s behavior and management at WWE, which is now part of TKO Group Holdings. In 2022, McMahon took a step back as CEO of WWE while the company investigated him for alleged misconduct, with the investigation focusing on accusations that he paid hush money to a worker with whom he allegedly had an affair. TO 2022 report The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon had agreed to pay more than $12 million to four women.
The WWE investigation was “a sham,” Grant’s lawyers allege in the lawsuit. “[T]”The special committee did not even bother to interview Ms. Grant or request any documents even though Ms. Grant stated that she would cooperate.”
McMahon later allegedly pressured Grant into signing a confidentiality agreement after he told her that his wife had found out about their relationship, according to the complaint.
“Ultimately, Ms. Grant succumbed to the pressure and signed the confidentiality agreement in exchange for payments, which McMahon then stopped making,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit asks a court to declare his NDA invalid under federal law, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. WWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 67-page lawsuit is filled with allegations that include some disturbing details. Below are some of the lawsuit’s claims.
In pain and vulnerable
In her claim, Grant describes herself as being down on her luck and suffering grief when she encountered McMahon. According to her lawsuit, her parents had recently died and she was trying to find work when a friend of hers recommended that she approach McMahon for advice.
In their first meeting, McMahon allegedly shared intimate details about his life, including “their current family dynamics, including his separation from Linda McMahon, his traumatic childhood, his growing up in poverty,” and told her “that he not only wanted to give her a job, but ‘give it [her] a life,’ and that he would find a place for her in WWE.”
But, the suit claims, McMahon soon crossed the line and began grooming Grant for sexual exploitation, appearing in his underwear, asking for kisses and making sexual advances.
Aggressive sexual behavior
McMahon allegedly demanded that Grant send him explicit photos and engaged in sexual behavior that the lawsuit claims was aggressive, causing “physical injuries, including bleeding and pain, from forceful use of sex toys.”
McMahon also allegedly named his sex toys after male WWE wrestlers: “[F]For example, a black ‘dildo’ would be named after an African-American wrestler and a white ‘dildo’ would be named after a Caucasian wrestler.”
The lawsuit also includes alleged texts from McMahon to Grant in which she described her sexual fantasies, as well as sharing that she had shown male WWE employees her explicit photos, as well as stories about her sexual behaviors.
“I just handed my phone to a group of guys on the technical team. They were screaming!!… “Look at that ass,” he wrote.
Sex trafficking allegations
The lawsuit claims the relationship escalated into sex trafficking in 2020, when McMahon allegedly pressured Grant into having threesomes with other men, including McMahon’s physical therapist and another WWE executive, John Laurinaitis, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. demand.
“On numerous occasions, Ms. Grant was ordered to visit Laurinaitis in his hotel room before work to serve him his ‘breakfast’ herself,” the lawsuit alleges. “These devastating experiences left Ms. Grant feeling as if she was being pimped out as an object of sexual gratification for her new boss.”
Claim for sexual assault in the WWE office
The lawsuit also claims that McMahon and Laurinaitis sexually assaulted her during work hours at the WWE office.
In June 2021, when she arrived at work, the pair took her to Laurinaitis’ office and allegedly assaulted her, despite Grant saying “no” and “please stop.” The lawsuit claims that McMahon responded, “No means yes.”
“On numerous other occasions while Ms. Grant was working with Laurinaitis, even after McMahon’s promise that singles matches would end, and even after his wife moved across the country to join Laurinaitis, he would call to Ms. Grant into his office, closing the door, unbuttoning his pants, and instructing Ms. Grant to perform oral sex on him,” the lawsuit states.
Grant Allegedly Used as ‘Sex Pawn’ to Sign Fighter
The lawsuit also claims that McMahon used Grant as a “sexual pawn” to lure an unnamed WWE wrestler, called WWE Superstar in the lawsuit, into signing a new contract.
“In December 2021, McMahon gave Ms. Grant’s personal cell phone number to the WWE Superstar and promised that he ‘will do anything’ that is asked of him,” the lawsuit alleges. “In the following days, the WWE superstar revealed a fetish to Ms. Grant and tested McMahon’s promise that Ms. Grant ‘would do anything’ with a request that she send him a video of herself urinating.” “.
Grant said he “obeyed,” although he avoided future interactions with the wrestler due to the COVID pandemic.
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