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WWE co-founder Vince McMahon has resigned after he was hit with disturbing allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a lawsuit this week.
The former WWE chairman denied the shocking claims by former WWE employee Janel Grant but decided to step down from his roles as he defends himself against the accusations.
Vince McMahon has resigned from WWE’s parent company TKO Group HoldingsGetty Images
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GettyThe employee alleged in a lawsuit on Thursday that McMahon promised her a job and promotions in exchange for sex.
She also accused him of sexual assault, trafficking, and physical abuse.
McMahon blasted the claims but resigned the day after the accusations were made public.
“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said on Friday night in a statement obtained by Deadline.
“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 TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effectively immediately.”
WWE president Nick Khan announced McMahon’s departure from the organization in an email to staff on Friday.
“I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors,” Khan wrote.
“He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
SHOCKING ALLEGATIONS
Some of the disturbing allegations against McMahon include that he defecated on the alleged victim during a threesome and that he trafficked her to other men at WWE.
In the lawsuit, Grant said she first met the 78-year-old executive through a manager in her building, where McMahon had a penthouse.
She began working at WWE’s Connecticut headquarters in June 2019.
She alleges that during a meeting, McMahon greeted her in his underwear.
He then allegedly pressured her into sexual activities in return for a job and warned her to stay quiet, according to the suit.
The suit also claims McMahon began sending Grant sexually explicit messages and making sexual demands after creating a position for her in the company’s legal department.
Grant accused McMahon of sharing explicit photographs and videos of her without her consent in March 2020.
McMahon allegedly locked Grant inside his private locker room and forced himself on her over a massage table, she claims in the lawsuit.
Other allegations include that he sexually abused her with sex toys he named after WWE wrestlers.
The lawsuit includes screenshots of Grant’s alleged conversations with McMahon over text, including a May 2020 message reportedly from the wrestling tycoon that read, “I’m the only one who owns u and controls who I want to f**k U.”
Grant alleged that, in March 2022, McMahon tried to traffic her to a top WWE star.
He texted her, “Part of the deal was f**king U,” the suit claims.
The WWE star in question was not named in the lawsuit.
Grant claims McMahon forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 after his wife, Linda McMahon, learned about their relationship.
McMahon allegedly agreed to pay her $3 million to sign the document and keep quiet but stopped making payments after the first $1 million payment, according to the suit.
The complaint accuses McMahon of subjecting her to “extreme cruelty and degradation” that caused Grant to become “numb to reality to survive the horrific encounters.”
Grant is seeking to void the agreement and unspecified financial damages.
PREVIOUS TROUBLES
McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of the WWE in June 2022.
It followed a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal accusing him of paying $12 million in hush payments to four women.
The WWE’s internal investigation found McMahon made $14.6 million in payments to women who had accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon has since repaid the company for the cost of the investigation.
The U.S. Sun contacted the WWE and McMahon’s attorney for comments on the allegations.
McMahon and his accuser both lived at a building managed by Donald Trump’s Trump Organization.
Formerly known as Trump Parc Stamford, residents who live there voted to nix the former president’s name from the building in 2021.
McMahon resigned just hours after close pal Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million in his own legal battle which involved allegations of sexual assault.
News of McMahon’s exit broke as the WWE was airing SmackDown live from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
MCMAHON BLASTS CLAIMS
Before he resigned, 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.”
In a statement from WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, a spokesperson said, “Mr McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE.
“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.”
Ann Callis, attorney of the accuser, appeared on the Law & Crime podcast, Crime Fix with Angenette Levy, on Friday.
She shared a statement from the alleged victim, saying, “She hopes those at the company past and present who fear speaking out about harm is a thing of the past.
“She wishes them all peace.”
Callis also said on the podcast that Grant “felt caged and imprisoned by Vince McMahon.”
“The escalation of the degrading things that happened to her, it is important for it to come out,” Callis said.
“These are allegations that we hope to prove to be true.
“She wants her life back. She wants ownership of her story. She wants to help other victims.
“Her hope is to help other victims to come forward.”
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