A new lawsuit has been filed that accuses Vince McMahon of sexually abusing a former WWE employee.
[Please be aware that the following report contains extremely disturbing details that some may find distressing]
On January 25th, former employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon that also names a former executive and sees additional accusations placed against a current WWE talent. A summary of the charges has been published in an article by the Wall Street Journal.
Grant worked for the WWE from 2019 t0 2022 and seeked employment after her parents had passed away. Grant was connected to McMahon as the WWE Chairman owned a penthouse in Grant’s apartment complex. Prior to employment, McMahon was allegedly sexually inappropriate to Grant including greeting her in his underwear.
Grant was offered the position of “administrator-coordinator,” in WWE’s legal department. The role saw Grant undertake little work and was told by McMahon that “it just has to look legit.”
During her time with the company, the lawsuit claims that Grant was sexually assaulted and humiliated. One instance claims that McMahon forced himself on Grant over a massage table and would send deeply inappropriate messages such as “i’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f— U.”
Grant would also allege that McMahon shared explicit content of Grant among other executives and directed Grant to have sex with them. Furthermore, a text exchange noted McMahon telling other employees that “She may scream and try to say NO!!although it would B difficult to say anything with a c— down her throat.”
The lawsuit notes that McMahon’s assaults continued, with McMahon allegedly sending Grant sexually explicit messages and forcefully using sex toys on her, including dildos he named after WWE wrestlers, causing her bruising and bleeding. Additionally, McMahon has been alleged to have defecated on Grant during a threesome.
With Grant’s health deteriorating, McMahon sent the former employee to a celebrity doctor and covered medical costs, along with paying a surgeon $20,000.
John Laurinaitis Named In Vince McMahon Lawsuit
The lawsuit names former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis as another employee who sexually assaulted Grant, with McMahon and Laurinaitis forcing themselves on Grant and saying “No means yes” and “Take it, b—.”
A prominent WWE Superstar is named in the lawsuit, described as a “world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion” whom the company were attempting to sign a new deal. Grant was ordered to make personalised sexual content for the wrestler and was informed “he likes what he sees.” The star would re-sign and it was stated to Grant that “part of the deal was f—ing U.”
Grant was forced to sign an NDA in January 2022 which would see her receive a $3 million payout under the terms. Grant received the initial $1 million but no further payments. The lawsuit does not disclose the value of financial compensation that Grant is seeking.
McMahon has been previously accused of paying multi-million dollar payouts in hush money in 2022. As noted in the lawsuit, it is alleged that the investigation was “a sham”:
WWE has also attempted to sweep the matter under the rug. Following media
reports that McMahon was involved in a “hush money” payment scandal, WWE released a
statement in June 2022 to announce that a special committee of its board of directors was
investigating the alleged misconduct and appointing Stephanie McMahon as Interim CEO and
Interim Chairwoman.
29. In this capacity, Ms. McMahon publicly affirmed her commitment to “doing
everything in [her] power to help the Special Committee complete its work…and to implement its
findings.” She also declared the “importance of a safe and collaborative workplace.”
Notwithstanding this public statement, the investigation was a sham.
Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE have all not commented on this lawsuit.
