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Vince McMahon Accused Of Serious Allegations In New Lawsuit

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A former WWE employee accused founder Vince McMahon and former executive John Laurinaitis sex trafficking, civil battery, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligence in a lawsuit filed on Thursday (January 25), NBC News reports.

Janel Grant claimed she's "the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking at WWE" in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

“Today’s complaint seeks to hold accountable two WWE executives who sexually assaulted and trafficked Plaintiff Janel Grant, as well as the organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug,” said Ann Callis, an attorney representing Grant, in a statement to NBC News addressing the lawsuit. “She is an incredibly private and courageous person who has suffered deeply at the hands of Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis.”

McMahon is accused of pushing Grant for a physical relationship in exchange for promised employment, which she claims led to her feeling "trapped in an impossible situation" in which she had to adhere to his demands or face ruin.

“Ms. Grant feared she had everything to lose and faced negative consequences no matter what happened,” the lawsuit states via NBC News.

In July 2022, the Wall Street Journal, which exclusively reported WWE's investigation a $3 million hush-money settlement paid by McMahon to a woman over an alleged affair, reported that the 76-year-old paid more than $12 million in hush money to four women during the past 16 years in an effort to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity. McMahon, has been married to his wife, Linda -- who served as WWE's president and later CEO from 1980 to 2009 and later as Small Business Administration chief as part of former President Donald Trump's administration from 2017 to 2019 -- since 1966.