Woman accusing Vince McMahon of sexual abuse asks WWE to waive confidentiality agreements
A former WWE employee who filed a lawsuit against the company and ex-leader Vince McMahon, accusing him of sexual battery and trafficking, is asking them to not enforce nondisclosure agreements with other former and current employees and contractors so they can potentially come forward with similar accusations.
A lawyer for Janel Grant emailed a letter making the request late Monday to attorneys representing WWE, McMahon and John Laurinaitis, a former WWE executive and wrestler, in Grant’s lawsuit against them.
A spokesperson for McMahon, Curtis Vogel, declined to comment. Lawyers for WWE and Laurinaitis did not immediately return emails seeking comment late Monday. Emails to the WWE and its parent companies, Endeavor Group Holdings and its subsidiary, TKO Group Holdings, also were not returned immediately.
McMahon, former CEO and chairman of WWE, has denied Grant’s allegations.
Grant, who worked in WWE’s legal and talent departments from 2019 to 2022, sued the company, McMahon and Laurinaitis in January, making graphic allegations of sexual assault, harassment, trafficking and other physical and emotional abuse.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into allegations that match those in Grant’s lawsuit. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors TKO Group Holdings in January, a day after Grant filed her lawsuit.
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‘Toxic workplace’
“If WWE and its parent company Endeavor are serious about parting ways with Vince McMahon and the toxic workplace culture he created, their executives should have no problem with releasing former WWE employees from their NDAs,” Ann Callis, Grant’s attorney, said in a statement. “This is the first step to rehabilitating a company that covered up decades of sexual assault and human trafficking.”
McMahon previously responded to Grant’s lawsuit with a statement calling it “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.” His lawyers said in court documents that he had a consensual relationship with Grant and never mistreated her.
Laurinaitis’ lawyer has denied the allegations, and said Laurinaitis was also a victim in the case.
Grant says she was pressured into leaving her job with the WWE and signing a $3 million US nondisclosure agreement. The lawsuit also seeks to have the agreement declared invalid, saying McMahon breached the deal by giving her $1 million and failing to pay the rest.
Four other women — all formerly affiliated with WWE — signed agreements with McMahon that bar them from discussing their relationships with him, the Wall Street Journal reported in July 2022, citing people familiar with the deals and documents it reviewed. Grant was not among those women, her representatives say.
In December 2022, McMahon agreed to pay a female former wrestling referee millions of dollars to settle her allegations that he raped her in 1986, the Journal also reported. McMahon said the alleged sexual assault never happened, and his lawyer said he settled the suit to avoid costly litigation.
Request to waive NDAs
Grant’s request for the Stamford, Connecticut-based WWE to waive enforcement of the NDAs is similar to ones made to other companies when sexual misconduct allegations arose.
In 2018 and 2019, respectively, the Weinstein Co. and NBC Universal released employees, former employees and others from NDAs made in connection with sexual misconduct claims against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and “Today” host Matt Lauer.
Victims’ lawyers call NDAs instruments to silence accusers while allowing alleged abusers to avoid accountability. A federal law approved in 2022 and similar laws in more than a dozen states curb the use of NDAs that block victims of sexual harassment from speaking publicly about their allegations.
The Associated Press does not normally name people who make sexual assault allegations unless they come forward publicly, which Grant did.
She alleges McMahon forced her into a sexual relationship with him in order for her to get and keep a job, and later directed her to have sexual relations with others including Laurinaitis. She also accuses McMahon and Laurinaitis of sexually assaulting her at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
The lawsuit further claims McMahon recruited other people for sexual relations with Grant, shared pornographic photos and videos of her with other men including WWE employees despite saying he wouldn’t and subjected her to cruel and humiliating acts.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
