WWE's Vince McMahon exposed woman he sexually trafficked to "extreme depravity," new lawsuit claims

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon has been accused of sexual trafficking by a former employee who alleged that he abused her with sex toys he named after wrestlers, amongst numerous other offenses, in a new lawsuit.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Janel Grant, a former WWE employee filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on Thursday a copy of which is available here.

Reports in June 2022 claimed that McMahon used millions of WWE money to pay off a woman, since named as Grant, in hush money payments to the sum of $3 million and sign an NDA to prevent her from discussing the alleged sexual exploitation she was exposed to while under the company's employment. McMahon reportedly created a position for Grant in WWE's legal department in 2019 after he befriended her following the passing of her parents which left her on the brink of bankruptcy.

McMahon was investigated by the WWE board in November 2022 and reportedly reimbursed the money to the sports entertainment company. In July 2023, McMahon was hit with search warrant on his phone and a grand jury subpoena but was not issued with any charges.

McMahon had stepped down as CEO in June 2022 but returned in January 2023 as executive chairman to help lead the efforts for the TKO merger with UFC, which was completed last year.

The new lawsuit alleges that McMahon and WWE's former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis violated the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act and inflicted years of sexual and emotional abuse upon Grant. She alleges that in June 2021 she was locked in an office in WWE HQ where McMahon and another executive took turns in assaulting her while other employees worked.

“Behind a locked door, the two men cornered her and pulled her in between them, forcibly touched her, before ultimately putting her on top of a table in between them,” the lawsuit reads. “She begged them to stop, but they forced themselves on her, each taking turns restraining her for the other, while saying ‘No means yes’ and ‘Take it, b***h.'”

The suit also claims that "McMahon repeatedly used sex toys named after other WWE employees, wrestlers and performers to sexually groom Ms. Grant for trafficking to those same people. Such was the extent of this abuse that Grant says she suffered bruising and bleeding from the toys. It is also noted that during an alleged threesome, McMahon engaged in a moment of '"extreme depravity" and defecated on Grant.

In March 2020, McMahon is also accused of sharing nude pornographic content of Grant with other employees including "a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract (and ultimately did sign that contract)."

During these negotiations, Grant's personal number was given to the star in December 2021 who was told "she’ll do anything” upon request. The star asked, a by this point 'numb' Grant for a video of herself urinating which she did. That same month star had expressed a desire to meet Grant for sex but a snowstorm prevented the two from ever meeting.

As Grant's mental health deteriorated she began experiencing "experiencing increasingly severe physical, mental and emotional symptoms, including sleep disruption, dizziness, exhaustion, rashes, weight loss, hair loss and migraines." McMahon then referred Grant to his own "celebrity doctor" and paid $20,000 to a surgeon for her.

Grant signed the NDA in January 2022 following constant pressure from McMahon, who claimed that his wife Linda had learned of the relationship. However, the payments that Grant had agreed to ultimately stopped being paid to her. The lawsuit is now attempting to find that the NDA that Grant signed was invalid and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for her under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and other laws.

The allegations against McMahon come just days before the company's annual Royal Rumble event and days after a huge broadcast deal was signed with Netflix, reportedly worth $5 billion.

In a statement given to Deadline, a spokesperson for McMahon said: "This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself."

A TKO representative has said in a statement: "Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. While this matter predates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally."

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