CONNECTICUT (CelebrityAccess) – Wrestling mogul Vince McMahon tendered his resignation from the parent company (TKO Group Holdings) of WWE just a day after a former employee, Janel Grant, filed a federal lawsuit alleging serious sexual misconduct including physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and sex trafficking.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Connecticut, accused McMahon, 78, of coercing Grant into a sexual relationship to secure and maintain her employment. The claims also include McMahon allegedly circulating explicit images and videos of Grant to other men, including fellow WWE employees. The lawsuit also names WWE as a company and John Laurinaitis, the former head of talent relations and general manager, as defendants. You can read the complaint in full here.
“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,” said Nick Khan, President of the WWE, in a staff memo. “He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
Despite these damning allegations, McMahon insisted on his innocence, stating:
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. 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.
This is not the first time McMahon has faced such accusations. In 2022, he stepped down as WWE’s CEO amid similar investigations. The lawsuit, however, brings these issues to the forefront once again.
McMahon, a pivotal figure in the WWE for decades, oversaw its transformation from small venues to the global entertainment giant it is today. WWE merged with the company behind Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in April, creating the $21.4 billion sports entertainment entity TKO Group, where McMahon served as executive chairman until his resignation.
Grant’s legal action seeks unspecified damages and the annulment of a $3 million nondisclosure agreement (NDA), claiming she received only $1 million.
