John Cena has reiterated that he has no guilt or shame about his friendship with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon despite the allegations made against him.
Following a lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant in 2024, which contained allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking against McMahon, he resigned from his position at TKO amid mounting pressure and scrutiny surrounding the allegations.
Major WWE sponsor Slim Jim paused its relationship with the company following the allegations, before resuming the partnership after McMahon left his position. McMahon is now very rarely mentioned on WWE TV, and many references have been erased from historical video packages.
McMahon was integral in Cena’s success in and out of the ring. On top of booking Cena to many of his WWE Championship victories and representing him as the top star in the company, McMahon gave Cena his first break in acting with WWE Studios’ film The Marine.
Cena has previously stated that he still loves McMahon despite the allegations, and the 17-time World Champion reiterated in a recent interview that there was “no guilt nor shame” surrounding his relationship with his former boss.
“It’s OK To Love Somebody When They Are Not Perfect”: John Cena On Vince McMahon
Speaking to The Guardian while promoting his upcoming movie Matchbox, Cena discussed his relationship with McMahon. Cena acknowledged that he knew his comments would be included in the article but made no attempt to hide his feelings:
“I have no guilt nor shame about my friendship and my relationship with Vince McMahon,” he says, swiftly followed by “you’re obviously going to put this in [your] article”. “It’s OK to love somebody when they’re not perfect.”
The lawsuit between McMahon and Grant will be settled in private arbitration. Cena retired from wrestling in December 2025 following his loss to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event and has since focused primarily on his acting career.
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