Days after being accused of sex trafficking and sexual abuse, Vince McMahon resigned from all of his roles at WWE and its parent company, TKO, a source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital on Friday.
“I stand by my previous assertion that Ms. Grant's lawsuit is filled with lies, made-up obscene cases that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said in a statement. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these unfounded allegations and look forward to clearing my name.
“However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary business of TKO and its board members, shareholders, partners and constituents and all the employees and superstars who helped make WWE the global leader it is today, I have decided resign from my executive chairmanship and the board of directors of TKO, effective immediately.”
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Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will take place at MetLife Stadium in 2013 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)
Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon on Thursday in Connecticut, who alleged in a 67-page complaint that McMahon lured her to the company with promises of a stellar career, only to be sexually exploited by him and people she called her “friends.” “. between 2019 and 2022.
The lawsuit says Grant signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in 2022 in which McMahon agreed to pay $3 million in exchange for her not disclosing their relationship or disparaging him. However, the lawsuit alleged that she continued to be harassed. The lawsuit seeks to vacate the NDA under the Speak Out Act, unspecified compensatory damages, and such further relief as the court “deems just and appropriate.”
WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 3, 2022. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
Grant joined WWE in June 2019, months after her parents died and after her building manager texted McMahon to see if he would talk to her, according to the lawsuit. Grant claims in the lawsuit that her initial meeting with McMahon was the beginning of the three-year “nightmare.”
Among the allegations, McMahon is accused of defecating on the plaintiff during a threesome and causing her injuries through the use of sex toys.
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The lawsuit says McMahon told Grant in January 2022 that his wife, Linda McMahon, had discovered their relationship and he allegedly pressured her to sign the confidentiality agreement.
Grant now “lives with such anxiety and depression that he is unable to leave his residence for weeks at a time due to fear and post-traumatic stress disorder,” the complaint states.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon speaks at a press conference to announce the WWE Network at the 2014 International CES at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on January 8, 2014 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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“This lawsuit is filled with lies, made-up obscene cases that never happened, and vindictive distortion of the truth,” a spokesperson for McMahon told Fox News Digital. “He will defend himself vigorously.”
McMahon bought WWE, then the World Wrestling Federation, in 1982, and built it into the empire it is today.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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