Vince McMahon accused of sex trafficking by former WWE staffer he paid to keep quiet in bombshell court documents
FORMER WWE chairman Vince McMahon has been accused of sex trafficking by a former staffer, according to a bombshell filing.
The ex- employee, identified as Janel Grant, filed a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court accusing of sexually exploiting her during her time with the company.
Grant began working at WWE's headquarters in in June 2019 after being introduced to McMahon by a manager in her building, where the 78-year-old businessman lived in the penthouse, according to the lawsuit obtained by the .
Before being hired, Grant claims that during a meeting, which was supposed to be about a potential job at the company, McMahon greeted her in his underwear.
He then allegedly pressured her into sexual activities in return for a job and warned her to stay quiet, according to the suit.
Grant claims McMahon created a position for her in the company's legal department and began sending her sexually explicit messages and making sexual demands, the suit said.
She allegedly complained to McMahon about the encounters and attempted to end the relationship.
In March 2020, Grant accused McMahon of sharing explicit photographs and videos of her without her consent with other employees at the company.
The lawsuit includes screenshots of Grant's alleged conversations with McMahon over text messages, including a May 2020 message from the wrestling tycoon that read, "I'm the only one who owns u and controls who I want to f**k U."
In a July 2020 text, McMahon allegedly texted Grant, saying that others at the company wanted to have sex with her after seeing her nude photos on his phone, according to the suit.
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She alleged that the former WWE chairman directed her to have sex with other executives and stars at the company.
During a June 23, 2021 encounter, McMahon allegedly locked Grant inside his private locker room and forced himself on her over a massage table, she claims in the lawsuit.
Grant alleged that in March 2022, McMahon tried to traffic her to a top WWE superstar, whom the company had re-signed at the time, texting her, "Part of the deal was f**king U," the suit claims.
The WWE superstar was not named in the lawsuit.
The court filing alleges that others at WWE knew about McMahon's misconduct but worked to bury the wrongdoing.
Grant claims McMahon forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 after his wife, Linda McMahon, learned about their relationship.
McMahon allegedly agreed to pay her $3 million to sign the document and keep quiet but stopped making payments after completing the first $1 million payment, according to the suit.
The complaint accuses McMahon of subjecting her to “extreme cruelty and degradation” that caused Grant to become “numb to reality to survive the horrific encounters.”
Grant is seeking to void the agreement and unspecified financial damages.
The U.S. Sun contacted the WWE and McMahon's attorney for comments on the allegations.
According to , a spokesman for McMahon said the lawsuit “is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself.”
TKO, a media conglomerate created by Endeavor after merging and WWE in September following a $21.6 billion takeover, called the allegations against McMahon - who serves as an executive chairman - horrific.
"Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE," TKO Group Holdings said in a statement to .
"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."
McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of WWE in June 2022 after a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal accused him of paying $12 million in hush payments to four women.
An internal investigation by the WWE found that McMahon made $14.6 million in payments to women who had accused him of sexual misconduct.
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In November 2022, WWE said the board's investigation was completed, and the company restated past securities filings.
McMahon repaid the company for the cost of the investigation and returned to WWE soon after.