Vince McMahon resigns from TKO and 'will no longer serve in a WWE role' after a lawsuit
WWE CEO Vince McMahon has resigned after being hit with disturbing allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a lawsuit this week.
The former WWE chairman denied the shocking claims made by former WWE employee Janel Grant, but decided to step down from his role while defending himself against the allegations.
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“I stand by my previous statement that Ms. Grant's lawsuit is full of lies, obscene fabrications that never happened, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said in a statement. Deadline.
“I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless allegations and look forward to clearing my name.”
He added: “Out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all the employees and superstars who have helped make WWE the world leader it is today, I I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the board of directors of TKO with immediate effect.”
He has resigned from TKO Group Holdings.
According to WWE President Nick Khan, McMahon will no longer have a role with WWE.
Following allegations of abuse and sex trafficking by a former employee, McMahon “has resigned as executive chairman of TKO and from TKO's board of directors. He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE,” Khan said in an email to staff on Friday.
SHOCKING MOVEMENTS
Some of the disturbing allegations against McMahon include that he defecated on the victim during a threesome and that he traded her to other WWE executives.
Grant first met the 78-year-old director through a manager in her building, of which McMahon had a penthouse.
She started working at the WWE headquarters in Connecticut in June 2019.
She claims McMahon greeted her in his underwear at a meeting.
He then allegedly pressured her into sexual activity in exchange for a job and warned her to keep quiet, the complaint said.
The lawsuit also alleges that McMahon began sending Grant sexually explicit messages and making sexual demands after he created a position for her in the company's legal department.
In March 2020, Grant accused McMahon of sharing explicit photos and videos of her without her consent.
McMahon allegedly locked Grant in his private locker room and forced himself on her over a massage table, she alleges in the lawsuit.
Other allegations include that he sexually assaulted her with sex toys he named after WWE wrestlers.
Grant also claimed that McMahon tried to steer her towards becoming a top WWE superstar in March 2022.
He texted her: “Part of the deal was f**king U,” the complaint alleges.
The WWE superstar in question was not named in the lawsuit.
McMahon stepped down as CEO and Chairman of the WWE in June 2022.
It followed a bombshell report from the Wall Street Journal accuses him of paying $12 million in hush payments to four women.
The WWE's internal investigation revealed that McMahon had made $14.6 million in payments to women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon has since reimbursed the company for the costs of the investigation.
The US Sun reached out to the WWE and McMahon's attorney for comment on the allegations.
McMahon and his accuser both lived in a building managed by Donald Trump's Trump Organization.
The residents who live there, formerly known as Trump Parc Stamford, voted to remove his name from the building in 2021.
McMahon resigned just hours after close friend Trump was forced to pay $83.3 million in his own legal battle involving sexual assault allegations.
News of McMahon's departure broke as the WWE broadcast SmackDown live from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
MCMAHON WAIVES CLAIMS
Hours before he resigned, a McMahon spokesman said the lawsuit was “riddled.”
SUBSIDY SPEAKS OUT
Before McMahon resigned earlier, plaintiff's attorney Ann Callis released a statement.
Callis read the statement during an interview on the Law&Crime podcast, Crime Solving with Angenette Levy.
“She hopes that those at the company, past and present, who are afraid to speak out about harm become a thing of the past,” Callis said.
“She wishes them all peace.”
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