A former WWE employee has accused the company's founder, Vince McMahon, of sex trafficking.
The former employee, Janel Grant, filed a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court on Thursday. It names McMahon, the WWE, and John Laurinaitis, the former head of talent relations and general manager.
Grant was hired by the company in 2019 and soon became “the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking,” according to the claims in the lawsuit. She also claims that she was pressured into having a sexual relationship with McMahon to get the job.
"When McMahon pushed Ms. Grant for a physical relationship in return for long-promised employment at WWE, she felt trapped in an impossible situation: submitting to McMahon's sexual demands or facing ruin," the complaint says.
The complaint continues, "Given McMahon's omnipotent position at WWE, coercion was inherent in his increasingly depraved sexual demands."
"Specifically, while McMahon was CEO of WWE and Ms. Grant was employed as an entry level coordinator in the legal department, McMahon recruited individuals to have sexual relations with Ms. Grant and/or with the two of them, directed Ms. Grant to visit Defendant Laurinaitis prior to the start of workdays for sexual encounters, and expected and directed Ms. Grant to engage in sexual activity at the WWE headquarters, even during working hours," the lawsuit says.
The complaint alleges Grant was the victim of "extreme cruelty and degradation" that caused her to become "numb to reality to survive the horrific encounters."
According to a report from NBC New York, Grant claims that McMahon "directed her to have sex with a WWE 'superstar' and other men."
WPXI reports:In her lawsuit, Grant said McMahon exploited her and trafficked her to other men. She said he also shared sexually explicit photos and videos of her with company executives, producers and “a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract.”
Ann Callis, an attorney for Grant, said in a statement that the lawsuit is aimed at holding McMahon and Laurinaitis accountable, “as well as the organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug.” She described her client as “an incredibly private and courageous person who has suffered deeply at the hands of Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis.”
“The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership,” she added.
The lawsuit seeks to void a nondisclosure agreement she alleges she signed in 2022 after McMahon agreed to pay her $3 million to keep quiet. She says McMahon paid her $1 million "but failed to make any further payments."
"The suit comes six months after federal lawsuit enforcement agents executed a search warrant on McMahon and served him with a grand jury subpoena as part of an investigation into McMahon's millions of dollars of payments to women after allegations of sexual misconduct," NBC reports.
